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Culture > Entertainment

Chappell Roan Sets a New Standard for Supporting Causes on Stage

Emma Paterson
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at ASU chapter.

Emerging from the clouds descends the next queer pop star, Chappell Roan. After shooting to stardom with her opening shows for Olivia Rodrigo, as well as a number of her songs going viral on TikTok, Roan is slowly climbing the charts and making her way into fans’ hearts.

Roan initially got her start on YouTube, writing and performing her own songs online. Atlantic Records caught wind and decided to sign her. Many of her songs are inspired by her path to “queer freedom” with one of her first recorded songs being written after going to her first gay club. 

Though she thought she had her kick start there, Atlantic Records ended up dropping her as an artist, and she began working on her own again. Later, she found a new label and created her 2023 album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” The album was received extremely well, some of those songs have over 20 million plays. 

Roan, though not top of the pop stars, is setting a standard that many celebrities should follow. Dressed in huge wigs and over-the-top makeup, she acknowledges her inspiration from drag shows and the queer entertainment industry. She constantly features drag queens in her music videos, as well as her shows. 


When headlining, Chappell Roan invites local drag queens in the area to open her show. She shares their Venmo accounts so fans can directly donate to the queens performing. A portion of her own headlining tour’s ticket sales went to the charity “For the Gworls,” to decrease homelessness rates in the Black transgender community. 

In almost every interview, Roan makes sure to give the LGBTQ+ community their flowers, as payback for inspiring her career. Unlike other celebrities that have been under scrutiny before for using LGBTQ+ community as a “prop” or bait to promote their own music, like Taylor Swift’s 2019 music video for “You Need to Calm Down,” or Harry Styles’ fashion inspirations. 

Although some people see calling people “queer baiting” to be a bit regressive, it is refreshing to see an artist in the spotlight consistently do real work to improve underserved communities as well as hold up their love and passion for the gay community.

My name is Emma Paterson, a journalist and student at Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. I grew up on a small island in Rhode Island where I learned the importance of community as well as the need for local news to be provided to all. As I grew up, I was an avid watcher of the news. I have videos on a camcorder from the early 2000's of me behind my couch, pretending to be a news reporter. Throughout my youth, I lived in Amsterdam as well as Mallorca, a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean. While traveling, I saw a number of different mediums of news with varying languages, coverage and audiences. Along with this passion of news came my passion for writing. Once I learned how to write, I didn't stop. I created short stories as gifts to my parents and teachers, I was excited when essays were assigned to me and was always helping my peers with editing their own work. I realized choosing Journalism as my major was a no brainer, it combined everything that I loved and was passionate about. I packed up my bags and moved across the country to Phoenix, Arizona and have never looked back! Since my time in college, I was able to work in my hometown's local newspaper, Newport This Week, as an editorial intern. I reported on a number of local events, helped format and create calendars and the paper all together. I reported and had a media pass for the iconic Newport Folk Fest. Tied with my classes, I've been able to create new connections across the Southwest, getting published in Arizona Yacht Club's blog, as well as Phoenix Magazine, where my current internship is. As senior year looms, I feel more prepared than ever for the outside world. I am currently planning on working in Cronkite's satellite office in Washington, D.C. in Spring 2025 as well as holding more internships up until that point. Post-grad, I hope to cover world affairs, politics or music.