While watching the Grammys this year, there were many memorable moments and inventive performances, but one artist’s daring speech stood out pointedly from the rest: Chappell Roan.
Chappell Roan perfectly fits the description of the award she took home. After rising from doughnut shop worker to pop superstar in only a year after the release of her debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” Roan is undoubtedly the Best New Artist of 2024. Her energizing star quality drew the biggest daytime crowd ever at Lollapalooza, attracting 110,000 fans. Additionally, her single “Good Luck Babe” climbed the charts internationally, reaching a top 10 spot in the U.S., Ireland, Singapore, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Despite her flood of adoration, Roan is viewed as a polemic figure in the music industry due to her frank, outspokenness. Last year, Roan sparked controversy about the right for celebrities to set boundaries with fans when she posted a series of candid TikToks condemning a variety of creepy interactions she has experienced, such as stalking and harassment. Many quickly called Chappell ungrateful due to her heightened emotions in the videos. “I don’t care that it’s normal,” Roan vented. “I don’t care that this crazy behavior comes along with the job, the career field I’ve chosen. That does not make it okay.”
Chappell Roan’s transparent expression of her ideas is not hampered by her fame. Roan has never hesitated to make a statement, which manifests in her eccentric costumes. Her unabashed candor makes her divisive, but it also makes her powerful. She made this very clear at the Grammys.
When called to the stage to accept her Best New Artist award, Chappell Roan stepped up to the microphone, clutching a journal in one hand and the Grammy in the other. Standing in front of hundreds of established millionaires and the most influential people in the music industry, Chappell Roan did what Chappell Roan does best: she spoke her mind.
After thanking those who got her to where she is today, Roan spent the rest of her speech advocating for developing artists. She reproached record labels for exploiting their artists, using her story to drive the point home. Because she was signed as a minor, Roan had no job experience after being dropped by her label and could not afford health insurance. She expressed feeling dehumanized and betrayed by the system. “Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection,” Roan insisted. “Labels: we got you, but do you got us?” During her speech, she even placed the Grammy on the floor to turn the page of her journal in an unconsciously symbolic gesture: these words matter more than recognition and prestige.
This bold denunciation yet again sparked controversy. Following the Grammys, music industry executive Jeff Rabhan wrote a lengthy op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter criticizing Roan’s speech for “lack[ing] the nuance and industry awareness to build any consensus.” His response faulted Roan for reproving an industry of which she is now an insider and accused her of merely announcing change rather than partaking in it. He wrote, “Skin in the game earns a seat at the table. But that table requires a willingness to leave blood on the floor and to put your money where your mouth is.”
Rabhan’s article was a vehement attack that was – in my opinion – wildly condescending. He infantilizes Roan as a naive amateur who stumbled into fame by chance without understanding how it works. Refusing to let her exhortation remain hollow, Roan responded with a fierce $25,000 clapback: she posted a screenshot of the article on her Instagram story with the caption: “@jeffrabhan wanna match me $25k to donate to struggling dropped artists? My publicist is @biz3publicity let’s talk.”
Roan immediately backed her words with action, championing artists who resembled herself before her sudden and haphazard rise to celebrity status. She provided tangible support to these artists whose names we don’t know, who possess the invaluable talent of Chappell Roan but lack her admiration.
The scope of Roan’s call to action was not limited to herself: A chain reaction ensued as a result, with artists like Noah Kahan and Charli XCX following suit with donations of their own. Roan launched a trend in the industry of successful artists uplifting those who are struggling, which serves as a testament to the merit of speaking up when others are listening. “Random dudes are allowed to criticize my Grammy speech, but they best put their money where their mouth is, otherwise MOVE out of the way,” Roan retorted on Instagram, turning Rabhan’s own words against him.
In addition to the content of the speech, viewers shamed Roan for appearing nervous on stage, as she was chewing gum, tripped on some words and flipped hastily through the pages of her handwritten journal. However, I feel that these demeanors enhanced the weight of the speech. They are what made its effect so profound because they humanized her. Most celebrities are either born into wealth or spend their early careers fighting tooth and nail for their big break. Once that moment arrives, they wholly assimilate to fame and lose sight of the hardships endured in its pursuit. Intensive media training, habituation to a lavish lifestyle and disconnect from the working class make celebrities unrelatable to their audiences – and frankly, bland. Many celebrities craft a brand for themselves, and then the person behind it becomes synonymous with that brand. Everything they do and say online and onstage is carefully crafted (by someone else) to be agreeable and in accord with the status quo.
Authenticity has an inverse relationship with fame in Hollywood, but Chappell Roan is one of the few exceptions to this pipeline. She wrote her speech herself, and the words obviously had personal significance. Not only does she avoid falling victim to fame’s embrace, but she also actively rejects it, to the point where she is condemned for it. Roan has made it clear that fame is not her end goal but a side effect; she wants to make a living through her art and for the right audience to enjoy it. Her unprecedented notoriety is a wave that washed over her rapidly, and the currents are rough and challenging to navigate. Roan has been open about the mental health issues that she has faced as a result.
Because she doesn’t care if she is lauded, her veracity is unfaltering, like a breath of fresh air. Chappell Roan is honest and uses her platform whenever possible to advocate for people who do not have the visibility she has. Elevating the importance of an aim she deems imperative above her public image could not have been an easy choice, especially in a room full of the most influential people in the music industry, which Roan’s visible anxiety at the moment emphasized.
When evaluating the speech in context with Roan’s career, it is a respectable move, made more so by her subsequent action. The overwhelmingly swift rise to fame she experienced brought her into the most coveted room with the most dominant players in the blink of an eye, but her youth and newness to fame did not silence her. Not many people would have the same audacity in Chappell’s position.
To make a palpable change, one must take action that is not universally agreeable, and while she may not always say the perfect thing in the proper manner, Chappell Roan always prioritizes change over agreeability. That is an admirable trait and a rare authenticity that is refreshing to see on a stage so significant.