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Chappell Roan: A Parasocial Nightmare

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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SLU chapter.

Chappell Roan has rapidly risen to fame with her album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” Recently, she has received backlash for a statement she made on her social media, communicating her boundaries with fans. The 26-year-old artist has been in the music industry for years. Atlantic Records signed her when she was 17, but it was not until her performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert in April of 2024 that she went viral. 

Roan took to Instagram, stating, “I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I have ever felt in my life.” On Roan’s TikTok, she expressed the negative experiences that came along with fame. She called attention to how stalking and harassment of celebrities have been normalized in today’s world. 

 “I don’t care that this crazy type of behavior comes along with the job, the career field I’ve chosen. That does not make it okay. That doesn’t make it normal. Doesn’t mean I want it. Doesn’t mean I like it,” Roan said.

Chappell Roan has done what very few celebrities have done before. In this generation, it is rare to see someone strictly express their boundaries with their fans in the music industry. However, parasocial relationships people develop with celebrities are nothing new. 

A parasocial relationship is a one-sided feeling of connection that someone feels, usually with a celebrity or a fictional character. At its core, parasocial relationships are not a bad thing. It can be harmlessly showing support online for a favorite artist. There is a dark side to parasocial relationships, when people ignore boundaries with a celebrity in public. Celebrities have also been put into dangerous situations, such as stalking. 

Roan has experienced fans yelling at her in public through car windows. Fans have become enraged when Roan declined when asked for a photo. In extreme cases, fans of Roan have stalked her and her family. 

It is expected of celebrities to give in to requests for pictures and entertain people in public, outside of their work. This unrealistic expectation dehumanizes those who have risen to fame, ensuring that they are not treated with respect. 

It is important to recognize that celebrities are their own people. It must be terrifying for strangers to treat them as if they have a close relationship with them. Celebrities are always expected to owe people their time and attention. Similarly, someone who is not famous does not owe anyone their time and attention—anyone in the entertainment industry should be held to the same standard. 

Women are expected to just idly allow their boundaries to be broken, otherwise, they are seen as difficult. The reality is that women, whether famous or not, do not have to be at the service of others. Chappell Roan said it best when she said, “I want to be an artist for a very, very long time. I’ve been in too many nonconsensual physical and social interactions, and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don’t owe you shit.” 

Anyone who has previously claimed to be a fan of Roan’s and exhibited extreme parasocial behavior is not a true fan. It is unreasonable to expect a famous person to cater to what the public wants from them when they are just trying to live their life. If someone does not want to take a picture, they do not have to. That decision should be respected.

Hi! I'm a junior at SLU majoring in Communication with a focus in Journalism and Media Studies. I love to read and watch movies, usually in the romance genre. I also love to do my own nails, hang with my cats, and go to concerts! Thanks for reading <3