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Pop singer Chappell Roan has posted a fresh statement explaining why she needs to “draw lines and set boundaries” when it comes to interactions with her fans.
The US artist, 26, has been propelled to international fame in the past year, thanks to the success of her critically acclaimed debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, as well as a tour supporting fellow pop singer Olivia Rodrigo.
Last week, Roan, born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, initally called out fans for “creepy behaviour” in two TikToks, after they had allegedly begun stalking her and her family, bullying her online and turning abusive when she refused to pose for photos or give hugs.
“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,” she said in her post to Instagram on Friday (23 August).
“[I’ve wanted] to be an artist for a very long time. 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***t.”
She 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.
“When I’m on stage, when I’m performing, when I’m in drag, when I’m at a work event, when I’m doing press... I am at work. Any other circumstance, I am not in work mode. I am clocked out.”
Roan said her stance had “nothing to do with the gratitude and love I feel for my community” and “for the people who respect my boundaries”.
Instead, she was specifically talking about “predatory” behaviour which she said was being disguised as “superfan” behaviour, which she believes has become normalised “because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past”.
“Understand this: I embrace the success of the project, the love I feel, and the gratitude I have,” she said. “What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed.”
The “Pink Pony Club” singer compared her situation to the misogynist notion that a woman wearing a short skirt is “asking” to be harassed.
“I want to love my life, be outside, giggle with my friends, go to the movie theater, feel safe, and do all the things every single person deserves to do,” she said.
“Please stop touching me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends. Please stop assuming things about me. There is always more to the story. I am scared and tired.”
Roan asked fans not to call her by her birth name, Kayleigh, adding: “I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I have ever felt in my life.”
She concluded: “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. Thank you for reading this. I appreciate your understanding and support.”
