I’m hoping this isn’t an unpopular opinion when I say it, but artists don’t owe us anything. Even when they become massive celebrities and pop culture figureheads, their job description includes producing the art they signed up to make. Nothing more, nothing less.
So why is that so hard for us fans to understand?
In case you missed it: this summer, Chappell Roan put out several statements about boundaries and fans. On TikTok, she addressed the weirdness of constantly being stopped for photos and yelled at by fans on the street. She also discusses the disrespect she faces when she isn’t willing to take photos or subject herself to fans during her off-hours. She points out that people would never treat a “random woman” in this way, so why should they do it to her?
But wait — it gets worse! When she discussed her sudden skyrocketing fame in an episode of Drew Afualo’s podcast, “The Comment Section,” the concerns were a lot more severe. Roan noted that some fans would follow her around or find information about where her parents and sister lived and worked.
As much as I would love to dismiss these actions as the work of people who don’t truly love or respect the artists, in the minds of these stalker-type super fans, that’s not the case.
If you’re not a chronically online Chappell Roan fan, you might not be aware of the drama surrounding what was formerly her most popular fan account — @midwestprincesshq, one of the people guilty of this aforementioned obsessive fan behavior.
Due to this “fan’s” weird and uncomfortable behavior, the other admins have since migrated to @mykinkishq. However, the knowledge that this behavior was coming not from casual fans with no respect for Chappell but rather from the depths of her fan community rocked her fanbase.
The craziest part about this issue is that this kind of fan stalking is not new behavior. Back in 2003, Britney Spears dealt with an instance where a fan sent her hundreds of photos and love letters and tracked her location to her home. The man’s lawyer claimed he was “an avid fan.”
Is this incident with Chappell Roan a new era’s version of the same thing? Maybe.
Unfortunately, in the age of the internet, we’ve made this kind of stalking more and more accessible. And with the direct artist-to-fan connection that modern social media allows, it’s no wonder that these parasocial relationships can develop into something more sinister.
I’d love to sit here and tell you the solution to this issue, but I honestly don’t have it.
Chappell Roan is a musician, not a pawn for our entertainment. And if she chose to “pump the breaks” on her fame and never release another song because of this, that would be her right.
No beating around the bush: this behavior toward celebrities is weird and predatory and needs to stop. Not much can be done at this point other than manage the fallout. Something needs to change.
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Pinterest!