When a “regular person” is stalked, the public sees it as a crime. When celebrities are victims of stalking, which often happens on a regular basis, the behavior is considered part of their job—at least for the public, not the celebrities.
For instance, pop superstar Chappell Roan, an American singer and songwriter who experienced a rapid rise to fame this past year, has recently received backlash after sharing her expectations for privacy, personal safety, and fan behavior on TikTok.
On August 19, 2024, Roan posted two TikTok videos. In the first video, she directly addressed her audience: “If you saw a random woman on the street, would you yell at her from the car window? Would you harass her in public?” She briefly mentions how her family has been stalked. In the second one, she explains that while she knows that this aggressive behavior is something many celebrities experience and is often considered part of the job, she does not accept it for herself.
“I don’t care that it’s normal. 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 ok.”
Roan turned the comment section off since she did not intend to start a conversation–she just wanted to establish her boundaries and expectations with the public. Many have taken issue with this episode as they want to respond to Roan’s sentiments themselves. The most liked TikTok video published under the sound of her original video reads: “I do not feel bad for a rich and famous person complaining about people asking for photos…If this is your biggest problem I am very very jealous of you.”
Since interactions with celebrities are quite common at NYU’s New York City campus, I wondered if NYU students felt the same about approaching celebrities.
Taniys Webb, a junior at NYU, recently met and took a photo with actress Phoebe Tonkin right outside of NYU’s Starbucks. It was not the first time that Webb had asked a celebrity for a selfie out and about, but it was the first time one had said yes. Webb expressed the importance of “reading the room” during the initial interaction and trying to gauge what is appropriate in the moment. “It isn’t necessary for them to interact with the public in a familial way, so you should definitely tread lightly,” she said.
Similarly, Gregory Cutler, a junior in Steinhart’s MCC program, explained that we cannot expect anything from a celebrity. ”They don’t really owe you anything as a fan, especially if you’re not going to go out of your way to be polite,” he said.
However, when I asked both students to comment on the controversy surrounding Chappell Roan, they each expressed mixed feelings.
“I believe it was the right message, but wrong delivery. Being famous and gaining acclaim for your work places you on a platform. With that, you also gain the the good, the bad, and everything in between. Roan doesn’t owe the public anything, but it’ll be better for her in the long run to acknowledge the reality she’s in and play it to her advantage,” said Webb.
Culter echoed a similar sentiment, saying,“[Roan] does certainly owe some level of respect to the fans who got her where she is. But at the end of the day she’s a human being and she is allowed her privacy and her quality of life as she wants.”
It seems that when it comes to approaching celebrities at NYU, it’s all about expectations. As a fan, you shouldn’t expect anything from celebrities. But as public figures, they should expect to have interactions with fans even when they are not working. Regardless of your opinion on what a celebrity might owe the public, I think we can all agree with Roan when she says, “I’m allowed to say no to creepy behavior, ok?”