Chappell Roan has had a phenomenal year – from sell-out gigs and a Coachella performance, to six Grammy Award nominations. However, as her popularity has exploded, the singer has been criticised for the way in which she sets professional boundaries; she went viral for shutting down a photographer on the VMAs red carpet, she called out ‘predatory superfan’ behaviour in a lengthy social media video, and has cancelled performances to protect her health.
While many have applauded her approach to fame, Chappell has faced backlash for her reluctance to adhere to the traditional celebrity structure. In an interview with Harpers Bazaar, Miley Cyrus addressed the Pink Pony Club singer’s rise to fame, and shared that she contacted Chappell to offer her support. Miley said: “I wish people would not give her a hard time. It’s probably really hard coming into this business with phones and Instagram. That wasn’t always a part of my life, and I’m not a part of it now. I don’t even have my Instagram password.”
Miley has spoken at length about the pressures she herself has faced from living life in the public eye, both as a teenager grappling with fame and as a 20 year old trying to shake off her Disney image. In an interview with British Vogue last year, she said: “Now that I’m an adult, I realise how harshly I was judged. I was harshly judged as a child by adults and now, as an adult, I realise that I would never harshly judge a child.”
A number of celebrities have also defended Chappell in recent months. Stevie Nicks spoke to Rolling Stone last month, stating: “Me and a friend of mine went and looked at her schedule, and it was outrageous. What she’s already done and then what she’s going into. It’s as bad as any schedule we ever did, and she’s new, and she’s young…I said, ‘They’ll burn her out if that’s what they want to do, because there’s always somebody to replace you.’
“It must make them all very fearful. That’s why it’s good that Chappell just said, ‘Well, go ahead, replace me. I’m canceling because I’m not going to drop dead for all you people.”
Hear, hear.