Chappell Roan Just Detailed The Terrifying Fan Encounters That Prompted Her Divisive TikTok Videos About Boundaries Last Month

Chappell also got into the specifics of how a whole bunch of A-listers — from Sir Elton John to Lady Gaga — rallied around her after she spoke out, with Billie Eilish among the stars “keeping tabs” on her wellbeing.

By
Stephanie Soteriou
by Stephanie Soteriou

BuzzFeed Staff

Last month, Chappell Roan took to her TikTok account to address how people treat her when they see her out and about.

Red carpet photo of Chappell Roan. She is posing in front of an ASCAP backdrop
Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images

"If you saw a random woman on the street, would you yell at her out a car window? Would you harass her in public?" she asked in one of the videos. "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. I'm a random bitch. You're a random bitch,” she added.


In a second video, Chappell said: "I don't care that abuse and harassment, stalking, whatever, is a normal thing to do to people who are famous, or a little famous. I don't care that this crazy type of behavior comes along with the job. ... That doesn't make it okay, that doesn't make it normal."


"I don't want whatever the fuck you think you're supposed to be entitled to whenever you see a celebrity,” she continued. “I don't give a fuck if you think it's selfish of me to say no to a photo, or your time, or for a hug. That's not normal. That's weird! ... I'm allowed to say no to creepy behavior.”

Soon afterward, Chappell followed up with an Instagram post reiterating her stance, explaining that she is “not in work mode” when living her day-to-day life.

Chappell Roan performs on stage in a sequined outfit with gold accents, striking a dynamic pose while holding a microphone
Dana Jacobs / WireImage

“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,” she said. “Women do not owe you a reason why they don’t want to be touched or talked to."

 

"I want to love my life, be outside, giggle with my friends, go to the movie theater, feel safe, and do all the things every single person deserves to do,” she added at the time. "Please stop touching me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends. Please stop assuming things about me. There is always more to the story.”


“I am scared and tired. And please — don’t ever call me Kayleigh,” Chappell went on, referencing her real name. “I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I have ever felt in my life."

And in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Chappell provided some wider context to her statements as she detailed just how intense her fan interactions had become.

Chappell Roan with long curly hair sings into a microphone on stage, wearing a sparkling, sequin-fringe dress
Christopher Polk / Billboard via Getty Images

In the profile, it’s stated that a fan asked Chappell for a photo when she was in the middle of a fight with her girlfriend and “clearly in distress.”


The star then revealed that she has a stalker who has shown up at her parents’ home, as well as her hotel room in New York. This has forced Chappell to get security for herself, which she branded “so lame.”


When she flew to Seattle back in July, fans found her flight information and met her at the airport, with one man apparently berating Chappell for not signing an autograph.


The same man was then said to be present alongside the paparazzi when she landed in Los Angeles, where Chappell now lives.


“I got home and dropped to my knees,” Chappell said in the interview. “I have a hard time crying now because of my meds, but I sobbed and was screaming.”

After that incident, a fan grabbed and kissed Chappell without her consent when she was out celebrating a friend’s birthday at a bar. That same night, she learned that her dad’s phone number had leaked online, and someone had called him.

Chappell Roan with wavy hair wearing a casual t-shirt stands in front of a neutral backdrop
TikTok @chappellroan / Via tiktok.com

These incidents proved to be the final straw for the star, and prompted her impassioned TikTok videos. 


While her statements divided people online, with some accusing Chappell of being ungrateful to the fans who ultimately made her famous, the singer revealed that she has received an outpouring of love and support from her industry peers. 

In fact, everybody from Billie Eilish to Sir Elton John to Sabrina Carpenter has reached out amid her meteoric rise to fame.

Chappell Roan performs on stage, seated on a heart-shaped set with a floral piece. She wears an elaborate costume with a ruffled skirt and puffy white sleeves
Cbs Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images

Per Rolling Stone, Charli XCX was the first to make contact after Chappell’s social media posts, with Billie also “keeping tabs” on her. 


Meanwhile, Paramore star Hayley Williams slid into Chappell’s DMs offering to chat “anytime,” and Mitski sent her an email welcoming her to “the shittiest exclusive club in the world, the club where strangers think you belong to them and they find and harass your family members.”


Lady Gaga passed on her phone number, Phoebe Bridgers went over to Chappell’s house to hang out, and her Boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker met the rising star for a coffee walk. 


Other stars offered Chappell some helpful tips and tricks for navigating the industry, with Katy Perry apparently telling her not to read the comments, and Lorde providing a “helpful list of things to do at an airport to fly under the radar.”


Sabrina Carpenter also contacted Chappell and suggested they get together to unpack their wildly successful-but-overwhelming summers.

Orville Peck, Troye Sivan, Noah Kahan, and Elton make up the smaller list of male artists to reach out and offer their support — with Elton almost being ghosted by Chappell when he called her from “a random iCloud number” 11 times in five days, with Chappell assuming that he was a fan who'd got hold of her details.

Elton John wears a maroon suit and orange-tinted glasses, smiling at a public event. An unidentified person has their hand on his shoulder in the background
Leon Bennett / Getty Images

“I was so mad and was about to hand my phone to my friend like, ‘Yo, let’s prank them,’” Chappell admitted. “I finally answered it one day, and it was Elton Fucking John. I was telling him I was struggling a lot, and he said, ‘If you need to stop, say stop.’”


Chappell went on to insist in the interview that she wasn’t listing off these famous faces to “name-drop,” but to prove that many people in the industry can relate to what she has been through.


“Every fucking artist is on this page,” she explained. “Everyone is uncomfortable with fans. Some people just have more patience. I fucking don’t.”

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