If you watched the MTV's Video Music Awards this week, you may have seen the memorable performance by pop star Chappell Roan, complete with an castle on fire and Roan wearing a suit of armor and armed with a sword. That performance might have left you with her hit "Good Luck, Babe" stuck in your head too).
You might also have seen the viral moment when the singer responded to a photographer yelling for someone to shut up with a “No, you shut up” as she walked the red carpet. (Expletives deleted from both.) It's not something you see often at an awards show, but as Chappell explained afterwards, red carpets are not exactly a walk in the park. In fact, she said she finds them horrifying. Fans might daydream about strolling with the flash of paparazzi cameras in their faces, but the reality can be much more stressful.
Roan's viral moment was a vivid illustration of the intersection of celebrity, fandom and the powers that be who have a vested interest in that interaction – an intersection that’s not always smooth. Rolling Stone ran a story about Roan last week, chronicling her meteoric rise to fame along with her struggle to accept that success. She cited the stress of people she doesn’t even know having expectations for her and feeling pressure to live up to the person her fans want her to be.
Navigating fame is complicated for anyone. Chappell has been open about doing so with the help of a therapist after a diagnosis of Bipolar II disorder. The singer said there have been psychological effects; she describes it as feeling less connected to who she used to be. She’s also had to decide how to interact with fans.
Roan describes several upsetting incidents of fans shattering boundaries, berating her for not signing an autograph or taking photos, showing up at her hotel room and her parents’ house, and once even physically grabbing and kissing her. The singer took to TikTok to let fans know........