Chappell Roan Stands Firm In Her Boundaries With Fans
Chappell Roan’s rise to fame has been meteoric. From one month to the next, the crowds multiply at an exponential rate, faster and faster, and with it, she has been clear time and time again that the impact of this breakneck speed to celebrity has come with its equal share of challenges.
Earlier this week, she set out to express her boundaries with her fans on TikTok, saying she’s no longer tolerating stalking and harassment. In this video, she asks her fans a series of questions, "If you saw a random woman on the street, would you yell at her from the car window? Would you harass her in public? Would you go up to a random lady and say, 'Can I get a photo with you?' And she's like, 'No, what the f—?' And then you get mad at this random lady?" she asked, adding, "Would you stalk her family? Would you follow her around? Would you try to dissect her life and bully her online? This is a lady you don't know, and she doesn't know you at all."
Despite eventually turning off comments on the TikTok, her (very fair) assertions about fame and the importance of respecting the humanity of artists, including celebrities, sparked waves of discourse online.
On Friday, Chappell Roan reaffirmed her boundaries, doubling down on the sentiments she shared just days before. In a lengthy message shared to Instagram, she stood firm in her boundaries, reiterating, “When I’m on stage, when I’m performing, when I’m in drag, when I’m at a work event, when I’m doing press…I am at work. Any other circumstance, I am not in work mode. I am clocked out. I don’t agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out-just because they’re expressing admiration. Women do not owe you a reason why they don’t want to be touched or talked to,” she wrote. “This has nothing to do with the gratitude and love I feel for my community, for the people who respect my boundaries, and for the love I feel from every person who lifts me up and has stuck with me to help the project get to where it is now.”
Calling out the stalking behavior from fans once again, Roan continues, “I am specifically talking about predatory behavior (disguised as “superfan” behavior) that has become normalized because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past. Please do not assume you know a lot about someone’s life, personality, and boundaries because you are familiar with them or their work online.”
In the caption, Roan concluded with: “Just to let you know, every woman is feeling or has felt similar to what I’m experiencing. This isn’t a new situation. If you see me as a bitch or ungrateful or my entire statement upsets you, baby that’s you… you gotta look inward and ask yourself ‘wait why am I so upset by this? Why is a girl expressing her fears and boundaries so infuriating?’”
