Chappell Roan has been relatively quiet for several months, every since she made an ass out of herself last September. It was a confluence of events, starting when Roan gave a handful of out-of-touch, bratty interviews in which she said crazy sh-t about Democrats. When people were like “what the hell is she talking about,” she made two TikToks where she tried to explain her political views and confirmed her “ignorant brat” status in the zeitgeist. To be clear, I still f–k with Chappell’s music and I think she has a gorgeous voice. But if she ever wants to open her mouth about American politics again, she should actually sit down and educate herself. Well, Chappell is back and giving interviews. She manages to avoid politics – it’s a wonder – but she did say something about how she’d be more popular if she wore a muzzle.
The 26-year-old is the first female pop star to achieve mainstream success as an openly queer person, rather than coming out as part of their post-fame narrative. On a more personal level, she’s finally got the financial security to move into a house of her own, and acquire a rescue cat, named Cherub Lou. “She’s super tiny, her breath smells so bad, and she doesn’t have a meow,” the singer dotes.
If kitten ownership is a benefit of fame, Roan has bristled at the downsides. She has spoken out against abusive fans, calling out “creepy behaviour” from people who harass her in airport queues and “stalk” her parents’ home. Last September, she went viral for cussing a photographer who’d been shouting abuse at stars on the red carpet of the MTV Awards.
“I was looking around, and I was like, ‘This is what people are OK with all the time? And I’m supposed to act normal? This is not normal. This is crazy’,” she recalls. The incident made headlines. British tabloids called her outburst the “tantrum” of a “spoiled diva”. But Roan is unapologetic.
“I’ve been responding that way to disrespect my whole life – but now there are cameras on me, and I also happen to be a pop star, and those things don’t match. It’s like oil and water.”
Roan says musicians are trained to be obedient. Standing up for yourself is portrayed as whining or ingratitude, and rejecting convention comes at a cost.
“I think, actually, I’d be more successful if I was OK wearing a muzzle,” she laughs. “If I were to override more of my basic instincts, where my heart is going, ‘Stop, stop, stop, you’re not OK’, I would be bigger. I would be way bigger… And I would still be on tour right now.”
Yeah, she ended up stopping her tour and her concerts last fall, partly out of concerns for her mental health, and partly because of the widespread backlash to her political statements. The muzzle thing… I mean, it’s true in the sense that Chappell needs to learn how to self-edit and self-censor, I think. That’s not “muzzling,” that’s just being an adult with a job and making choices about what you will speak about publicly versus your private opinions and views. No one is forcing her to make an ass out of herself, you know? It’s up to her to find the balance.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
