Upon the release of her viral song “Good Luck, Babe!,” Chappell Roan, once an independent artist known only to her primarily queer audience, skyrocketed to mainstream pop success. In the first week of the song’s release, Roan gained 100k followers on Instagram alone. As of October 5, 2024, exactly six months since its release, she has gained 4.5m followers and is the No. 1 artist on Billboard.
However, with more attention comes more criticism. In the beginning of her rapid rise to fame, there were allegations of her being an industry plant. In reality, her first song “Die Young” was officially released to streaming platforms in 2017, but Troye Sivan tweeted his support for the song, which was originally released on her old YouTube channel, Kayleigh Rose, in 2014.
Arguably, the last time the internet saw an artist blow up to the same extent was Olivia Rodrigo in 2021. Roan and Rodrigo have more than just a producer in common—like many other young female artists, they were the subject of hate trains following commercial success. Despite their connections and friendship within the industry, the claims that Roan should have been prepared for the reality of fame seem insensitive.
The widespread criticisms began after she uploaded a video to her TikTok account in which she spoke about her boundaries as an artist. Although the public consensus was that it is unrealistic for a celebrity to expect to be left alone in public, this opinion is based on a misunderstanding of her argument. In essence, Roan feels it is within her rights to say no to photos or feel uncomfortable with strangers wanting to hug her. The online reaction has proven her point that people feel entitled to treat celebrities however they want to.
Roan, who prefers to go by Kayleigh when she is not performing, views her on-stage persona as a drag project. When strangers approach her in public and expect her to behave like she’s in character, the line between who she is as a person and who she is as an artist becomes blurred. Ultimately, her singing career is a job, so it is reasonable for her to want the same work-life balance that many of us aspire to have.
Although she has been privileged enough to make it to celebrity status, she was a regular person for the first 25 years of her life. This adjustment could be difficult for anyone, but it is particularly tumultuous for someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Roan has the subtype bipolar II, which is characterized by hypomanic and depressive episodes. The inconsistencies in mood and behavior can lead to complications with identity, something Roan has to grapple with while facing the sudden pressure of millions of eyes on her every move.
It’s understandable why her fans were disappointed by her dropping out of the “All Things Go” music festival the day before, but making jokes about her mental health and boundaries only further stigmatizes mental illness. If Roan overextends her energy while in a hypomanic episode, her depressive episodes will take longer to recover from. It is best for the longevity of her career to find a maintainable balance between activity levels, but her mental health should be the top priority regardless.
Online critics have claimed that Roan “isn’t built for fame,” but why is it so normalized that harassment comes with the job? Why is it expected that celebrities should be complicit to mistreatment? Others have stated that she “chose to be famous,” but she didn’t choose this level of fame; she chose to make music. On an episode of the podcast The Comment Section with Drew Afualo, Roan stated, “I’ve like pumped the brakes on honestly anything to make me more known.”
In an industry where the end goal for so many is success, it is refreshing to give a platform to someone who values art for the sake of art. In response to hate, Roan expressed in a video uploaded to her Instagram story, “I want to f*cking throw parties for gay people on stage … and I want people to feel safe at my shows.” It is incredibly validating to see a lesbian become one of the most famous artists of the present time, but the sense of community would be lost if a safe space was created for everyone but the artist.
Let this article be a reminder that celebrities owe you nothing because they are people too, dealing with unimaginable pressures on top of the same issues that the rest of us face.