Mackenzie Sheldon | Opinion Editor
Chappelle Roan's fame increased dramatically in April 2024 after performing at Coachella. Videos of her performing, her songs on Spotify, her social media pages, and her music videos all spread like wildfire, leading to her obtaining an enormous fanbase. This quick fame unfortunately came with a cost.
August 23rd Instagram Post
In late August, Roan posted a 7- post on her Instagram discussing her experience with aggressive fans and stalking behaviors. She talks about how a “super-fan” is really just normalized predatory behavior.
| “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”
| “Please stop touching me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends”
| “I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I have ever felt in my life.”
Roan said all of this in her August 23rd post. With over 4.7 million followers, she removed access to comments and access to view how many people liked the post. She has stated in multiple articles that she's being harassed, and abused, and has to deal with stalkerish behavior from her fans. Some of her fans have found out her address, and her sister's address, reached out to her family, and leaked her father's phone number.
It’s not fair that Chappelle Roan doesn’t get to live her life free of worry she will be harassed just because she is an artist. Roan isn’t the first to deal with awful fan behavior. This has happened with multiple celebrities, coming out and saying they are getting knocks on their door and stalkerish behavior. Celebrities such as Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, and Lorde have contacted Roan to give advice and support on handling her quick fame.
Stop Stalking Celebrities
Seriously. All celebrities have the right to privacy and autonomy. They are humans just like us. Some fans have argued saying that celebrities owe us because were the ones who got them famous.
Chappelle Roan said in that same Instagram post...
| “...women don’t owe you shit. 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.”
Your idols do not owe you anything. They are people just like you and me. Imagine a stranger following you home, knocking on your door, or spam-calling you, all because you love performing and gained popularity. They have every right to set boundaries, just like you and me.
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