Chapell Roan is addressing what the singer and songwriter referred to as "predatory behavior" from fans in a lengthy Instagram post...and nothing was held back.
"For the past 10 years I’ve been going non-stop to build my project and it’s come to the point that I need to draw lines and set boundaries. I want to be an artist for a very very long time," Roan wrote in a note posted to Instagram on Friday, Aug. 23.
"I’ve been in too many nonconsensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don’t owe you s***," the performer continued. "I chose this career path because I love music and art and honoring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it."
Roan went on to say that when she is on stage, performing, in drag, at a work event or doing press she is "at work." When she's not, however, she is not and should not be expected to be 100% available to her fans.
"Any other circumstance, I am not in work mode," she continued. "I am clocked out. I don't agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out—just because they're expressing admiration.
"Women do not owe you a reason why they don't want to be touched or talked to," she added.
The singer went on to clarify that her comments have "nothing to do with the gratitude and love I Feel for my community, for the people who respect my boundaries, and for the love I feel from every person who lifts me up and has tuck with me to help the project get to where it is now."
"I am specifically talking about predatory behavior (disguised as 'superfan' behavior) that has become normalized because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past," Roan went on to clarify. "Please do not assume you know a lot about someone’s life, personality, and boundaries because you are familiar with them or their work online."
This is not the first time Roan had addressed the behavior of certain fans who she says are not respecting her boundaries. On Monday, Aug. 19, she shard a series of TikTok videos, where she said she has “entitled” fans with “creepy behavior.”
“If you’re still asking, ‘Well, if you didn’t want this to happen then why did you choose a career where they knew you wouldn’t be comfortable with the outcome of success?’—understand this: I embrace the success of this project, the love I feel, and the gratitude I have," Roan continued in her latest Instagram post. "What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed.”
Roan then went on to compare the type of boundary-crossing and harassment she says she has been experiencing as a result of her fame to women being catcalled and harassed.
"This situation is similar to the idea that if a woman wears a short skirt and gets harassed and catcalled, she shouldn’t have worn the short skirt in the first place," Roan wrote. "It is not the woman’s duty to suck it up and take it; it is the harasser’s duty to be a decent person, leave her alone, and respect that she can wear whatever she wants and still deserve peace in this world."
The artist said she wants to simply "do all the things every single person deserves to do," including being outside, giggling with her friends, going to the movies and feeling safe.
"Please stop being weird to my family and friends," she continued. "Please stop assuming things about me. There is always more to the story. I am scared and tired. And please—don’t call me Kayleigh. I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I have ever felt in my life.
"There is a part of myself that I save just for my project and all of you. There is a part of myself that is just for me, and I don’t want that taken away from me," she concluded. "Thank you for reading this. I appreciate your understanding and support.”
