Chappell Roan has had an incredible year — as this month’s Rolling Stone US cover story put it, she’s experienced “the kind of rise that makes words like ‘meteoric’ feel quaint.”
However, she’s also been open about how disorienting everything has been, even taking to TikTok to describe scary moments she’s had with intense fans and open up about the wild expectations placed on her now that her career has taken off.
Though grappling with her new fame has been difficult, she’s also heard from some of music’s biggest stars, who have reached out to show Roan they have her back. She’s received emails from Mitski and calls from Elton John; other artists have simply sung her praises and let her know they stand with her. Below are just a few of the people who have supported Roan.
In her cover story, Roan shares that Mitski wrote her a long email commiserating about experiences with the complexities of fame. “I just wanted to humbly welcome you to the shittiest exclusive club in the world, the club where strangers think you belong to them and they find and harass your family members,” the email reads.
Mitski has talked about her own ambivalence with fame and celebrity. “I felt it was shaving away my soul little by little,” she told Rolling Stone in 2021. “The music industry is this supersaturated version of consumerism. You are the product being consumed, bought, and sold. Even the people on your team who are your friends, the very foundation of your dynamic is that they get a percentage of your income. Every time I turned something down, it would mean that they would make less money.”
Jewel posted a TikTok video supporting Roan and sharing her own struggles with intense fans, describing the way she encountered stalkers early in her career. “We shouldn’t make people feel unsafe. We shouldn’t feel entitled to touch their bodies. It’s not cool,” she said in the video. “So Chappell, full support. I’m glad people are talking about it. It’s something that people just typically haven’t talked about. Proud of what you’re doing. And everybody, I hope you all know that everybody is worthy of compassion, even if you’re rich, even if you’re famous.”
Roan shared that Charli was one of the people who first reached out to her when her career went stratospheric. Charli also talked about how much she respects Roan’s artistry during a recent interview with Troye Sivan for i-D. “It feels like there’s this new wave of artists with different ambitions and cultural touchpoints who are really thriving in mainstream culture,” Charli said. “And I think that’s myself, that’s Troye, that’s Chappell.”
Elton John has been a fan of Roan’s for a while; he even featured her song “Pink Pony Club” on his Rocket Hour radio show in 2023. He’d been calling to check on her from a number Roan didn’t recognize, ringing her 11 times in five days. “I thought a fucking fan found my iCloud,” Roan said in her RS cover story. “I was so mad and was about to hand my phone to my friend like, ‘Yo, let’s prank them.’ I finally answered it one day, and it was Elton Fucking John. I was telling him I was struggling a lot, and he said, ‘If you need to stop, say stop.’ ”
“I am very protective of her,” John told Rolling Stone. “She is kind, innocent, and wonderful. She is not ‘Chappell Roan’ offstage — a bit like me. She is one of those people who I felt like I have known for a long time.”
Roan shared that Billie Eilish has texted her, though she hasn’t had time to respond quite yet. Eilish even called “Good Luck, Babe!” her favourite song of the year.
Roan said in her cover interview that Katy Perry gave her a valuable piece of advice: “Never read the comments.” In other interviews, Perry has spoken about how much she loves and appreciates Roan’s music. “I relate to her the most because she’s so authentically herself,” she said in a conversation with Scott Mills on BBC Sounds.
Perry went on to describe the new generation of pop stars, like Roan and Tate McCrae, making their mark in music. “There’s a wave of them and they’re all so talented,” she said. “They work so hard. They have such individual perspectives and voices. And Chappell is just like, man, her view on life is the view for me.”
The Paramore singer sent Roan a DM and offered to talk to her whenever she needed. She also posted an Instagram story after Roan expressed some of her struggles with her new celebrity status on Instagram and her need for boundaries with fans.
“This happens to every woman I know from this business, myself included. Social media has made this worse,” Williams wrote. “I’m really thankful Chappell is willing to address it in a real way, in real time. It’s brave and unfortunately necessary.”
Roan shared that though Gaga had passed over her phone number, she’d been too nervous to text or call. In a recent interview with Vogue, Gaga praised Roan and other pop stars like Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Kesha, and Billie Eilish, saying how much their success moves her.
“I mean, I really love them,” Gaga said. “I go on the internet and, like, cry. I love Taylor Swift too. And Kesha. I watch it all, and I’m like: Yup. Go!… I’m not only cheering them on, I want them to know that my heart is in it with them. I want them all to feel really happy.”
Roan revealed she’d gone on walks and grabbed coffees with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. Phoebe Bridgers also came over to hang out at Roan’s and discussed how fandom behaviour has become more and more “abusive and violent.”
Sabrina Carpenter reached out to Roan and suggested they meet up and compare notes after they both experienced huge breakthroughs this summer.
“We’re both going through something so fucking hard … she just feels like everything is flying, and she’s just barely hanging on,” Roan said. “It was just good to know someone else feels that way.”
From Rolling Stone US
