Hot To Go, Hard To Handle: Chappell Roan's Battle Against Boundaryless Stardom
"Do you think she's gonna play Hot To Go?"
Well, at All Things Go, the Maryland music festival with a lineup as gay as they come, "Hot To Go" did not play as breakout star, Chappell Roan rescinded her performance just days before the show. The drastic decision came after weeks of media attacks on the artist setting boundaries after being assaulted in airports, stalked in her hometown, and losing all sense of normalcy in her life - she can't even go to Trader Joe's without an entourage of fans and fanatics gaggling around her scarlet-curled locks but it’s not about the fan-fare as much as it is the weaponizing of a female wanting and willing to stand up for herself in the shadows of Hollywood’s volatile and graceless microcosm.
If you're living under a rock, Chappell Roan has absolutely taken the music world by storm, competing for the number one spot on Billboard against the one and only Taylor Swift. Chappell's rise to fame seems quick, but in fact, she's been working towards it for years. Just this year, she has accomplished feats such as drawing a historically large audience at this Lollapalooza music festival and earning Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). While Roan adjusts to her newfound fame, she has been extremely vocal, calling out those who have disrupted her safety, privacy, and respect.That doesn't change the fact that at the drop of a hat, her life ceased to be the same forever.
Fame has a startling effect - paparazzi following your every move, drama channels monetizing your pain, and fans thinking they have a right to total access to their "fave's" life, no matter how personal. Chappell denounces the people who behave so ostentatiously, and does not see them as fans.
On Aug. 19, artist Chappell Roan, known for her hits "Good Luck, Babe!" and "HOT TO GO!" shared a video on TikTok addressing inappropriate fan behavior. Instead of hearing Roan out and listening to what she had to say, people immediately began calling her "ungrateful" for her fame and success.
In the video, Roan discussed the unreasonable expectations put on celebrities, saying that she should be able to live life like a human being without being randomly approached, harassed, or even stalked.
"I don't care that this crazy type of behavior comes along with the job," said Roan in her TikTok video. "That does not make it okay."
This whole mess isn't just a modern headache. Back in 1956, when rock 'n' roll was still shocking parents, some smarty-pants researchers were already unpacking what they dubbed "parasocial" relationships. They spotted the blueprint for our celeb-obsessed culture way before Instagram was a twinkle in Zuckerberg's eye.
These academic types figured out it's all a perfect storm: stars putting on a show of being relatable, our brains wired to connect with any human-shaped thing, and our own emotional baggage making us suckers for fake friendships with famous faces. It's like a science experiment gone wild, with Chappell Roan as the unwitting lab rat in our social media petri dish.
Beyond the lack of boundaries that exist in our day-to-day normal life, she has been heinously attacked from all corners of the Internet. The World Wide Web, in all its boundless glory, has become a breeding ground for heinous attacks against her. It's like watching a twisted game of whack-a-mole, where Roan is the unwitting mole and the mallets seem to strike harder and faster than they do for her male counterparts.
Why is Roan bearing the brunt of this backlash? It's as if we've collectively decided that women in the spotlight need to suffer a certain amount before they're granted permission to voice their struggles. Unlike seasoned veterans like Taylor Swift or Britney "Piece of Me" Spears, there's this unspoken belief that Roan hasn't paid her dues yet. She's the new kid on the block, and apparently, that means she hasn't "earned" her right to complain.
But let's be real - there's more to this than just fame newbie hazing. I can't help but wonder if Roan's outspoken brashness and proud lesbianism are triggering some deep-seated, subconscious biases. It's like watching a real-life, high-stakes brute arcade game. Only in this case, the ‘mole’ is a talented, unapologetically queer artist, and the mallets are wielded by keyboard warriors who can't handle her authenticity and are unwilling to settle for dangerous disrespect.
Roan has garnered much attention from media across platforms for her outspoken behavior. Some, like myself, applaud her for being brave enough to defend herself and set basic boundaries with fans to combat harmful behavior, but the bigger picture is that she is defending herself against a continuous history of harassment against female artists.
Still, certain people have called her out for "complaining" and for being ungrateful and rude to her fans. Those who disagree with her say that treatment like that is normal and that it isn't anyone else's responsibility that she can't "handle fame." This assessment shows how tone-deaf others can be, and how often people discard real concerns that have long plagued women in the music industry.
Perhaps part of why the fandom is so intense and so rabid with Roan is because the fans feel like they played a part in her creation. Her career (even though she has been and is again represented by a major label) feels somehow organic.
Citing Roan’s rise as meteoric is underselling it; her project has been in the works for a decade - supported by working at a local Missouri drive thru to nannying - the fame did not come in a blink as it may appear. Yet the life altering changes, happened fast, hard, and in a way no amount of future forecasting can prepare you for. Roan has shared already how hard this has been on her. During a June show in North Carolina, she cried on stage. "I just want to be honest with the crowd and I just feel a little off today because I think that my career has just kind of gone really fast, and it's really hard to keep up," she said.
So kudos to Chappell for braving the public and being one of the first modern celebrities to not draw the line at creating boundaries. "For the past 10 years I've been going non-stop to build my project and it's come to the point that I need to draw lines and set boundaries," she said in an Instagram post. She “Turned off comments because I'm not looking for anyone's response. This isn't a group conversation. I understand that this is jarring to hear from a person in my position. I'm not afraid of the consequences for demanding respect. Just to let you know, every woman is feeling or has felt similar to what I'm experiencing."
Really, the fury directed at Roan mirrors our own insecurities and desires. In Western culture, fame has become the ultimate currency, even outshining wealth in our collective imagination. The influencer era has dangled the carrot of celebrity status closer than ever, making it seem like anyone with a smartphone could become the next big thing.
This accessibility might be fueling the fire of resentment towards Roan. We're so caught up in our own fantasies of fame that we can't fathom someone questioning its value. It's like we've all bought tickets to this grand illusion, and Roan's honesty is threatening to pull back the curtain.
We don't truly know Roan or her experiences, but we've been conditioned to believe that fame is the ultimate prize. So when she speaks out, it feels like she's not just ungrateful, but actively challenging a core belief many of us hold dear. She's not only questioning our societal values, but also shattering the rose-tinted dream we've built around celebrity life.
We cling to celebrity culture as a lifeline, hoping it'll make us feel more connected and valued. Yet, time and time again, we see evidence that fame isn't a shield against emotional turmoil or social isolation. Just scroll through any social media platform, and you'll find countless controversies showing that being in the spotlight often amplifies these issues.
At the same time, it's crucial to remember that fame shouldn't equate to a life without boundaries. Those who contribute to our culture through their art and presence deserve basic human decency and respect. As fans, our admiration should extend beyond blind worship to include understanding and empathy for the person behind the persona.
