Media training? Chappell Roan doesn’t know her. Since getting her 2024 promotion from gay famous to world famous, this messy icon has constantly faced backlash for comments she’s made online and in interviews. The diva is always gonna say exactly what’s on her mind — not what her publicist or label told her to say. While I generally admire her complete lack of a filter, I’ve also found a few of her comments (the uninformed ones about politics) frustrating at times. Between setting strict boundaries with fans, making some interesting comments about the presidential election, and calling her young mom friends “miserable,” the pop star’s had her fair share of (relatively harmless) controversies in less than a year. Here’s a full breakdown of all the Chappell Roan controversies to date.

Chappell Roan Controversies: Fans, Politics, Mom Comments

“I’m Just A Random Bitch” (A Fair Request For Boundaries)

@chappellroanDo not assume this is directed at someone or a specific encounter. This is just my side of the story and my feelings.♬ original sound – chappell roan

When Chappell skyrocketed to superstardom in the summer of 2024, she quickly discovered the downsides of fame: stalkers, online bullying, etc. In a few blunt TikToks, she set boundaries with fans. “I’m a random bitch,” she pointed out. “You’re a random bitch. Just think about that for a second, okay?” Chappell emphasized that she doesn’t GAF that “abuse and harassment and stalking is a normal thing to do” to famous people. “That does not make it okay,” she said. Period.

Chappell added, “I don’t give a fuck if you think it’s selfish of me to say no to a photo or for your time or for a hug. That’s not normal! That’s weird!” I think this is the part where some people got upset or pissed off. Obviously, asking a celebrity for a photo (respectfully) isn’t exactly criminal behavior. When you’re a huge public figure, it does kind of come with the territory. The internet was divided on this one… I honestly didn’t have much of an issue with it.

The Endorsement Debacle

@chappellroanIm done talking about it. If you dont get what im saying from this, its a lost cause. And im not forcing you to agree with me. This is my statement. Have a good day♬ original sound – chappell roan

This one’s personal because it ended with her canceling her All Things Go set — which I’d been looking forward to for more than six months, RIP. Ahead of the 2024 election, Chappell refused to endorse Kamala Harris and made some vague “both sides are bad” comments that were, well, unhelpful in the moment. “I have so many issues with our government in every way,” she told The Guardian in September 2024. “There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone. There’s problems on both sides.” Obviously, Chappell’s left-leaning and would never vote for T*ump, but she had also previously criticized the Biden administration’s support of Israel.

After a wave of backlash over her pre-election comments, Chappell ranted on TikTok. “Yeah, I’m voting for fucking Kamala,” pronouncing the former VP’s name totally wrong. “But I’m not settling for what has been offered,” she explained. “Fuck the policies on the right, but fuck some of the policies on the left. There is no way I can stand behind some of the left’s completely transphobic and completely genocidal views.” She said both parties are “fucked up,” but admitted that “one’s obviously better than the other.” Still, no endorsement. While it’s totally fair and necessary to criticize the Democratic Party, literally everyone in the country would be better off right now if T*ump didn’t win.

The Call Her Daddy Double Whammy

When Chappell (very shockingly) appeared on Call Her Daddy, she pissed off a lot of moms and made some cringe comments about politics. “All of my friends who have kids are in hell,” Chappell said when asked about getting married and having kids of her own one day. “I actually don’t know anyone who’s like happy and has children at this age.” (She’s 27.) She added that her mom friends have no “light in their eyes” and don’t sleep. As a non-mom, I thought nothing of this, but some not miserable young moms got very offended. I don’t really get this, because she wasn’t talking about every young mom in the world! Just her pals.

However, I did find the politics comment frustrating. Chappell basically said that pop stars don’t have time to be politically educated, which is obviously not the case. “How can these girls tour, write, perform, interview, sleep, eat, and fucking work out?” she asked. “AND be fucking… so politically educated?” People were quick to make fun of that comment on Twitter because a schedule of ~singing, talking, eating, and sleeping~ doesn’t sound too bad. And of course, us normal people are busy too. People work full-time jobs, take care of kids and loved ones, and still manage to keep up with current events. We have to!

Chappell called keeping herself informed about politics an “impossible” task and claimed we shouldn’t be “looking to [her] for some political answer.” She added, “I’m a pop star. I wish I had the answers.” Sigh. When you’ve made activism for trans and Palestinian folks such a core part of your brand, you can’t then turn around and say you actually know nothing. People look to her for “political answers” because she’s a very political pop star! She’s always speaking about issues that matter to her, which is awesome.

When we’re dealing with an oligarchy and people’s rights are being stripped away everyday, you — a person with millions of followers and powerful influence — do have a responsibility to speak up, share resources, and encourage fans to take action (like voting, donating, and protesting). You don’t have to be that politically educated to know T*ump was a far worse option than VP Harris.