We all have a favorite artist. Sometimes, they even become ingrained into our personality to the point that it is a life mission to meet them or attend a concert (me with Harry Styles, Omar Apollo, and Billie Eilish). However, this parasocial relationship can have downsides, with some fans taking it too far and acting like they are best friends with these artists. Recently, pop singer Chappell Roan has been making waves with multiple festival runs, touring worldwide, and opening for Olivia Rodrigo on some of her U.S. tour dates this past spring. However, this fame has come with a scary price: stalkers. It reached a point this past month where Roan could no longer be silent. Since then, the iconic singer has opened conversations about parasocial relationships with musicians and their negative impacts.
Roan first opened up about her problem with stalkers on famous TikTok content creator Drew Afualo’s podcast. She talked about how some fans have gone so far as to find her parents’ address and her sister’s place of work. She even stated that when she first got into the music business 10+ years ago, she promised that if this job ever jeopardized her family’s safety, she would quit, and she felt that she was reaching that tipping point. Many people were shocked to hear this and how open and honest Roan was about how she felt with these creepy fan encounters, as few female artists have spoken up about it. After this podcast, Chappell Roan followed up with an Instagram post continuing to face fans not respecting boundaries.
Musicians and fan relationships have experienced obsessive behavior for ages, such as The Beatles craze in the ’60s, David Bowie’s rise, and, more recently, artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, and so many more. However, what’s new is Roan setting boundaries with her fans and sticking to them. Especially for female artists, as they are often sexualized and harassed to an extreme amount but do not say anything for fear of being labeled aggressive or ungrateful. This has created a continuous environment where fans feel like artists owe them something. Roan is just one of the few artists calling people out for this behavior and fostering this conversation about parasocial relationships.
Kesha, for example, discussed her surviving sexual assault by famous music producer Dr. Luke and was then blacklisted from the industry while still stuck in her contract. Janet Jackson was disgraced for a wardrobe malfunction while performing with Justin Timberlake. It is evident that female musicians are often blacklisted or shunned for anything and everything. With Chappell Roan speaking up about this mistreatment, she can foster the conversation to better the relationship between artists and their fans.
The impact of Chappell Roan’s post and speech on the podcast is already visible. On TikTok, music fans are uniting to talk about the parasocial nature of artist-fan relationships and how this can skew the perception of what is right and wrong for fans. In addition, basic fan etiquette is being discussed along with the history of mistreatment artists face due to fans not understanding this. Through informing and opening the conversation, fans can realize they do not know the artists they love, and so boundaries are needed and should be respected.
Though we may love artists and sometimes feel personally connected to them, the reality is quite the opposite. There are boundaries that come with a fan-artist relationship, and it is important to remember that. If fans want to continue to have the capability to meet their favorite artists or even just get new music from them, there has to be respect, especially for female artists. Otherwise, there is a continual vicious cycle of women artists being chased out of the scene or made unsafe due to their own fans. Listen to artists when they speak about their boundaries, and everyone will keep getting to enjoy concerts, both the fans and artists alike.