Chappell Roan will “quit” music if she can’t “stand up for myself” from “villain” reputation

Chappell Roan has once again spoken about setting boundaries with fans and why she’ll “quit” her career if she can’t defend herself.

• READ MORE: Chappell Roan: the pop supernova who feels like one of the ‘Drag Race’ girls

Last year, Roan’s feelings about fame consistently made headlines, with her comparing it to “an abusive ex-husband”. In an interview with The Face, the former NME Cover star vented about the normalisation of extreme fan behaviour including “stalking, talking shit online, [people who] won’t leave you alone, yelling at you in public.” She added: “I didn’t know it would feel this bad.”

Prior to that, she had taken to TikTok to share her thoughts on “weird” and “creepy” followers, calling out the “predatory behaviour” of so-called “superfans” that includes “nonconsensual physical and social interactions”.

Since then, fans have been split down the middle in regard to Roan’s boundaries; some are all for it, while others have deemed Roan as “ungrateful” towards the fans who made her famous.

In a new chat with TS Madison on the Outlaws podcast, Chapell Roan has once again opened up on the matter, saying she’s been made to feel like “a villain”. “When I started to say ‘Don’t talk to me like that’… that doesn’t mean I’m a villain or I’m ungrateful for what I have. It’s like, why is this customary? It’s so… abusive.”

She then brought up past instances of artists being mistreated by fans and the media: “I thought it was really interesting reading something about how there’s so much love in apologies for people like Britney [Spears] and Paris [Hilton] and how people were so evil to them and as a community we need to apologise to them. Absolutely, but also… that behaviour is still… people are still doing it.”

“Do you want me to just get to the point where I become agoraphobic? Or so stressed out, or so anxious to perform? You want me to get to that point? Because if I don’t say anything, I will. If I do not stand up for myself, I will quit because I cannot bear this. I cannot bear people touching me who I don’t know. I cannot bear people following me.”

“I cannot bear people saying I’m something I’m not. That’s what’s really hard online. People just assume you’re the villain,” she said. “I can’t do this if I’m not trying to protect who I am. Otherwise, I will either quit or just be so severely depressed that I have to go back to the hospital.”

Chappell Roan went on to give thanks to Britney Spears and Madonna for paving the way for her to be the artist she is today: “Britney was saying the things I’m saying, that’s the saddest part. Because they’ve laid the groundwork… They walked so I can run. I can wear this bridal [outfit] right now because Madonna fucking sacrificed herself on that MTV stage… like a virgin.”

She also addressed setting boundaries with fans: “People hate it when you call them out and immediately, it’s like defensive. ‘How dare you say I can’t come up to you and take a photo with you? I deserve to!’ I told people how I feel, and people listened. It’s hard to not get into internet battles. It hurts my feelings too much, the comments hurt my feelings too much.”

• READ MORE: Chappell Roan live in London: a joyous celebration of queerness, community and fun

Roan’s viral boundaries have been applauded by celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Stevie Nicks, Rachel Zegler, and Daniel Craig, the latter saying he admires “the guts to say those things”. Olivia Rodrigo also revealed that Roan has been a key support figure in helping her deal with an “overwhelming” entertainment industry.

In March, Chappell Roan addressed how she might have “hurt” fans with her comments: “I know it really hurts people… they feel like it’s me disrespecting them or I owe it to them, or how dare I call it abuse. Or that I’m complaining about success, I get that a lot… but I’m not complaining about success, I’m just complaining about creepy behaviour… I just don’t want you to interrupt me when I’m having a fight with a girlfriend and I’m crying… that’s crazy.”

Earlier in March, Roan dropped the highly anticipated single ‘The Giver’ and sharing an update on when fans can expect her sophomore album. “New album? Great question. We’re so beyond… so beyond far away from that, I could not even tell you,” she said.

In a four-star review of her debut LP, NME wrote: “These sharp pop moments shine brighter than some of the weaker ballads that pad out the lengthy tracklist. Yet ‘The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess’ is a display of Roan’s bold and brazen pen, where she places searing revelations alongside some deliciously cheeky choruses.”

Roan recently announced a huge outdoor summer show in Scotland, which will take place after her Reading and Leeds headline slot and before her Electric Picnic performance – visit here for tickets.

Chappell Roan’s outdoor UK and Ireland shows for this summer are:

AUGUST
22 – Reading, Richfield Avenue
23 – Leeds, Bramham Park
26 – Edinburgh, Royal Highland Showgrounds
29 – County Laois, Electric Picnic

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