Chappell Roan’s parasocial fame test

Last night, Chappell Roan took to TikTok to make a point to her fans who are more on the extreme side of fandom. Since posting the videos last night, each has racked up over 5 million views, and that number is climbing quickly. 

In the first of two videos, which were posted one right after the other, she appeared visibly annoyed and posed questions to her audience about whether they would do to a random woman what they do to her when they see her on the street. Things like screaming her name from a car and invading her space.

@chappellroan

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In the second video, she describes her intolerance for the “abuse and harassment” that she calls “normal” for famous people, particularly fans getting upset over the refusal of a photo or a hug and thinking they know celebrities personally when really, they don’t.

@chappellroan

Do not assume this is directed at someone or a specific encounter. This is just my side of the story and my feelings.

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While I’m mostly in agreement that some of the behaviour she describes experiencing in the videos is weird and shares characteristics with stalking and harassment, I do believe the lines can get blurred when it comes to people feeling like they know you. Despite it being a very one-sided relationship, it makes sense that people feel they know you when they’ve followed you for years, particularly when you’ve shared as much as she has online and offline over the course of her budding career – like what it was like falling in love with her best friend and getting signed at 17. So where is the line? 

It’s an interesting conundrum for a few reasons. First, it’s an issue that appears to be generational, for the most part. Second, it raises some interesting questions about our current generation of stan culture. And lastly, it raises the question of what it means for people who leverage social media and their followers as a tool to advance their careers or status but don’t necessarily feel comfortable when that translates into more attention in real life.

Complaints from celebrities about the invasion of their privacy have been around forever. But typically, it’s been targeted to paparazzi. Kristen Bell famously helped establish the “No Kids Policy” for paparazzi, which I wrote about here. Over the years, we’ve also seen certified stalkers get taken to task (and also to court!) over unhealthy obsessions and endangering celebrities. Earlier this year, Kristin Cavallari opened up on her podcast about her experience with a stalker who went as far as slashing her tires. And Taylor Swift has also had more than one experience being stalked. 

It's just interesting that more established celebrities, like Beyoncé, for example, don’t tend to call the fan intrusions out as frequently as the newly minted celebrities seem to. That being said, I imagine Beyoncé’s security team is much more secret service-y than Chappell’s, and that’s if she even has a security team.

I think that’s part of what’s frustrating Chappell. She can’t roam as freely as she used to without being approached in the street. But with 3 million (and counting) TikTok followers, dedicated fan accounts and summer anthems under her belt, the last few years, and this summer in particular, have been an extraordinary ascension to the fame she’s experiencing and perhaps she is realizing that her hope of maintaining some sense of normalcy while doing what she loves is just irreconcilable.

In fact, the word on the street (read: TikTok) is that she’s actually sending a lot of this messaging to the very people that run her fan accounts. In a July podcast appearance with certified bad bitch Drew Afualo, she opened up about how insane some of her fans have become. She revealed that they’ve discovered where her family lives and where her sister works. And interestingly, she told Drew that if her fans ever got like this, she’d quit and walk away. This creator summarized the interview pretty decently and filled in some blanks for us about the fan accounts that are simply taking things too far.

@allynaston

Its not just a crazy fan... its worse @chappell roan #chappellroan #drewafualo #pinkponyclub #celebrity #popculture #popculturenews #greenscreen #fan #pop #popmusic #midwestprincess #music

♬ original sound - Allyn Aston

In her own way, what Chappell is really interrogating in the clips from last night and during the podcast appearance back in July are the parasocial relationships fans build with celebrities. It's understandably both uncomfortable and terrifying, particularly with her family being unnecessarily exposed. But with the threat of her walking away from her passion, and revoking the entertainment she provides, she’s essentially protesting in a way that’s kind of…new.

In asserting these boundaries, Chappell is ushering a new era of celebrity. Almost like saying, “Sure, I’ll be famous, but you’re going to have to work with me on a few things.” She’s not throwing off the entire ecosystem of fame and celebrity, but asking that there be more consideration for them as humans, first.

It’s hard to tell what the overall reaction is to her remarks in the clips from last night because she turned the comments off for both videos, but it seems that a lot of her fans support her message. Most seem to not only understand her boundaries, but respect and agree with them as well. In fact, her fans have a unique way of supporting her, which entails making satirical videos based on claims that she is rude, mean and bratty. The satirical videos feature creative and hilarious stories about fictitious interactions with her, like this one. 

@undiagnosedanthony

So sad loved her music ❤️ #chappelroan #satire #storytime #goodluckbabe

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The creator who recapped Chappell’s interview with Drew made a point to express a sense of fear among her fans, who are at risk of losing her as an entertainer because people are weird and creepy. That’s upsetting. We all have that one celebrity that we truly adore, and for a lot of people, Chappell seems to be it – and it makes sense.

She’s witty, she’s down to earth, and she’s relatable AF. She’s actually getting praised for calling out a VIP section for thinking they were “too cool” to participate at a recent concert. She's also using her live concerts to center queer joy, safety, and celebration, in a thoughtful and fun way unrivaled by any of her peers. And it’s likely this exact behaviour that fuels even more of those parasocial relationships. She feeds into what so many of us wish celebrities were – the antithesis of a stuck-up, snotty famous person. She just wants to do what she loves and maybe, just maybe, be respected and left alone in public.