Chappell Roan. Your favorite artist’s favorite artist. The Midwest Princess herself. Whether you like her or you hate her she has made a name for herself in the music industry and has grown her fan base at a rapid rate over the last year. Single-handedly reviving lesbian pop music, she has opened the door for so many queer artists to share their art and has made an entire community feel seen and heard through her lyrics.
I myself am an avid listener of Chappell Roan. So much so that I bought tickets to the All Things Go festival in New York City so I could see her live along with some of my other favorite artists. You can understand my immense disappointment when the day before the festival was set to kick off, she posted an Instagram story explaining that she would be unable to play both her NYC and Washington D.C. sets.
Above all else, I am a firm believer in putting your mental health first. Celebrity status does not exclude people from such a real personal struggle. However, my opinion on the situation has been made based on the way that it was handled and the way that Roan continuously handles the situations that have arisen due to her fame.
A couple of weeks ago, Roan was under fire for not making a public endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris — a candidate that many felt aligned with Roan’s views. She explained that although she would be voting for Harris, she felt that she could not specifically endorse a side that she did not 100% agree with. This angered a lot of people.
Maya Luna, the founder of Progress Libs, tweeted, “Chappell Roan is an embarrassment to lesbians, you can’t borrow from drag aesthetics and embrace your sexuality and then pretend the party that would criminalize our happiness is the same as the one who protects it.”
A lot of fans believe the reason she canceled the shows was due to the fact that the criticism she received was too much for her to handle and negatively affected her mental health.
The hate Roan received and continues to receive is harsh and most of the time unreasonable. However, many people, myself included, feel as though Roan may not be all that cut out for fame based on her recent show cancellations and public videos in which she appears stressed and yells at the camera in frustration.
Roan rose to fame quicker than many of today’s larger artists in the industry. She has had to deal with becoming a superstar in a matter of months and I cannot even imagine the pressure she is under to perform adequately and say the right things. This being said, I think it’s important that she steps away from the spotlight and takes time to reflect on her fame. Decide what she wants and whether or not she wants to continue to grow in her career. I agree with Roan’s previous statements on the fact that no one should have to deal with harassment and hate even if they’re famous, but as unfortunate as it is, these things happen when you are in the public eye.
Canceling the day before a festival was not the way to approach all that she is dealing with. People flew from across the United States and other countries to see her and spent money on hotels and train tickets just to find out hours before she was supposed to go on stage that she would not be there. Disappointing your fans like that without a real explanation as to why other than she feels like she is under pressure is ridiculous.
Being a singer and performer at the end of the day is her job. This is not the first time she has canceled shows due to feelings of stress or scheduling conflicts. It’s obvious she is being stretched too thin and the only solution I can see for her is stepping out of the spotlight for a while. Focusing on herself will benefit her mental health and also avoid letting any more of her fans down.
I love Chappell Roan but I think it’s time that she really thinks about her career and how she can continue to do what she loves, while also setting the boundaries she deserves with her mental health without disregarding her fans completely.
oparisi@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @chappellroan, Instagram
