Chappell Roan is speaking out against the “predatory behavior” she’s been experiencing with some of her so-called fans.
On Friday (Aug. 23), the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer — who shot to fame over the past year with her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess — shared a lengthy statement on social media, pleading with fans to respect her boundaries.
“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 on Instagram. “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—. I chose this career path because 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.”
The 26-year-old artist explained that she’s “at work” when performing on stage, dressed in drag, attending a work event, or doing press. But that in “any other circumstance,” she’s “not in work mode” and “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,” Roan said. “Women do not owe you a reason why they don’t want to be touched or talked to.”
The Hot to Go! musician clarified that her note “has nothing to do with the gratitude and love I feel for my community” and for the “people who respect my boundaries.”
“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 wrote. “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.”
She added, “If you’re still asking, ‘Well, if you didn’t want this to happen, then why did you choose a career where you knew you wouldn’t be comfortable with the outcome of success?’—understand this: I embrace the success of the project, the love I feel, and the gratitude I have. What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed.”
The “Pink Pony Club” singer explained that she ultimately wants to be able 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,” without her privacy being invaded.
“Please stop touching me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends. Please top 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,” she wrote. “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.”
Earlier in the week, Roan took to TikTok to share a video of herself calling out “entitled” fans who exhibit “creepy behavior” toward her in public.
Roan is currently sitting at a peak of No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, with Midwest Princess reaching an all-time high so far of No. 2 — just under Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department — on the Billboard 200 chart dated Aug. 24. She has a total of seven songs charting on the first tally, including “Good Luck, Babe!,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Casual,” “Red Wine Supernova,” “Feminineomenon” and “My Kink Is Karma.”
See Roan’s post on Instagram below.