Kayleigh Rose Amstuz, more famously known as Chappell Roan, has experienced a huge rise in fame and notoriety within the last year. Born in Willard, Missouri, she has taken the world by storm with her debut album titled, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” — an energetic pop album with notable hits such as “HOT TO GO!” and “Red Wine Supernova.” The album was released in September 2023, but recently picked up traction this year with many songs from the album going viral all over social media platforms like TikTok. Her larger-than-life aesthetic has also cemented her role in the pop genre landscape, as she often pays homage to the drag queen scene and the broader LGBTQ+ community.
Roan has recently been making headlines not just for her music, but due to controversial comments she made regarding the 2024 presidential election. It started with an interview with The Guardian on Sept. 20, where she spoke about why she didn’t feel the need to endorse a presidential candidate, unlike many other celebrities.
“I have so many issues with our government in every way,” Roan said “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. I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote – vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.”
A day after the article was published, a pop culture account on X, formerly Twitter, under the username “PopFlopHQ,” shared a post quoting Roan writing, “Chappell Roan on why she hasn’t endorsed Kamala Harris.”
Many fans and other social media users didn’t react positively to Roan’s statements in The Guardian interview. One X user wrote, “I always knew there was something off about her.” Another wrote, “One of the dumber things I’ve read today. I was a fan too.” In the original tweet, readers weren’t given the context of her whole quote, which led many to believe the singer would be voting for Donald Trump.
On Sept. 24, Roan addressed the reaction in a TikTok where she gave context to her quote and expressed her idea behind.
“I have encouraged people to use critical thinking skills, learn about what they’re voting for, learn about who they’re voting for and ask questions and it’s being completely taken out of context,” she said.
Roan continued by expressing the importance of questioning the media we produce in relation to the viral tweet that reached over 77 million views. She ended the video by stating that she has no plans to vote for Trump, emphasizing the importance of questioning those in power and even said, “I’m sorry that you fell for the clickbait.”
After this TikTok was posted, Roan still continued to receive hate and criticism from social media users and the public. The singer made another TikTok, this time making clear who she was actually voting for, and highlighting how she doesn’t feel right endorsing any candidate that she can’t stand behind in the first place.
“So yeah, I’m voting for f***ing Kamala. But I’m not settling for what has been offered, [be]cause that’s questionable,” she said. Roan made it very clear that she’s never had any intention of “playing both sides” due to many believing she had made her recent video to minimize backlash and saying what people wanted to hear. The video concluded with her saying, “…I hope you don’t settle for what we have and put your name behind someone that you don’t fully trust because of their blatant actions.”
After the release of both TikTok videos, she did a last minute cancellation of two shows, citing mental health as the main catalyst. She wrote on her Instagram story, “Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks, and I am really feeling it.”
Now, it’s December., Trump has won the 2024 presidential election, Roan has gone back to posting regularly on her social media accounts and has even performed on SNL — the same night Vice President Kamala Harris made an appearance on the show. Her recent controversy reflects some of the challenges of expressing nuanced concepts and opinions in a time where digital information is often spread quickly with little explanation or context.