It's no secret that pop icon Chappell Roan, your favorite artist's favorite artist, has exploded to a new level of stardom this year. Her songs “Hot to Go” and “Good Luck, Babe!” both blew up on TikTok, and she has been topping the charts ever since. Now Roan is the #1 artist on the Billboard 100 and her album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” is #1 in album sales.

With her shockingly fast rise to popularity, she is dealing with many issues that come with it, including stalking. Roan recently took to her social media to set boundaries with her fans, brought on by harassment she has been experiencing.

On her Instagram, she posted a message discussing the difference between her on-stage persona and when she is off-stage, trying to live her life. “When I'm on stage when I'm performing, when I'm in drag, when I'm at a work event when I'm doing press, I am at work. In any other circumstances, I am not in work mode. I don't agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy…just because they're expressing admiration.”

Because parasocial relationships have become more common and severe with the rise of social media, people think that because they follow a celebrity or listen to their music that they know them as a person, which is simply not true. Some followers also responded with a sentiment that Roan owes them these interactions because they helped make her popular and that this loss of privacy is an innate part of the career she chose to have.

Roan's statement came after a speculated situation of a fan who used to run the midwestprincesshq account, one of the largest Chappell Roan fan accounts with over 70,000 followers on Instagram. The account was stolen from the admins and the person who stole it has been accused of stalking Roan and her family. In a previous interview with Drew Afualo, Roan talked about the creepy behavior of people who claim to be superfans. “People have started to be freaks- like, [they] follow me, and know where my parents live, and where my sister works.” She continued, saying, “Don’t yell at me from your car window. In what other circumstance [is that okay]? That’s harassment.”

In another incident in July, some fans obtained her flight information and tracked her down at the airport. One man harassed her, demanding she sign an autograph, until the police arrived. When she landed back at LAX, the same man was there waiting for her with a group of paparazzi.

Roan has also been kissed by a fan without her consent. In August, while she was out at a bar celebrating her friend’s birthday, a fan grabbed her and kissed her. That same day, she found out her dad’s phone number had been leaked online and someone had called him. It is because of these many negative encounters, not one singular instance, that Roan spoke out on her social media.

She made sure to share how grateful she is for the success of her work while firmly setting boundaries with her audience. “I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I ever have in my life.” Roan emphasizes her need for personal space and privacy, saying, “Please stop touching me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends. Please stop assuming things about me…I am scared and tired.”

As artists become larger and more publicly known, they deal with more harassment as they become idolized as icons. The general public forgets that they are still people. Roan's rise to fame, although long-awaited, was extremely rapid and at a scale that has never been seen before in such a short period of time, due to social media and the immediate spread of information. When Spotify Wrapped was released in November 2023, Chappell Roan had 150,000 monthly listeners, and as of April 2024, she had reached over 20 million listeners.

This drastic change has been affecting Roan’s mental health, the effects seen most recently by the cancellation of her performance at the music festival All Things Go less than a day prior to the event. It seems that she canceled so she would be able to rest before returning to her tour, but there were mixed reactions amongst the audience.

Many were upset, having paid hundreds of dollars to see her, and unable to get a refund. Others felt personally hurt by the cancellation, with one fan comparing it to a friend canceling plans on them at the last minute, which exemplifies the parasocial issue. Roan does not owe them an explanation or an apology.

The parasocial relationship is especially a problem with her fans because Roan used to post more personal and relatable content on TikTok before she blew up. We feel like we know her, but we do not.

While social media has changed the nature of parasocial relationships, harassment and stalking of women have long been an issue in the entertainment industry. In January of this year, a man named David Crowe was arrested 3 times in 5 days for stalking Taylor Swift at her townhouse. He had been lurking around her house for at least a month. Swift has been dealing with stalkers for several years.

In August 2023, Drew Barrymore was rushed off-stage at a talk show event as Chad Michael Busto yelled at her from the audience. “You know who I am. I need to see you at some point while you are in New York,” he shouted at her. Busto, who had previously shown up at Barrymore's home, was later arrested and charged with stalking.

Although these are more serious cases of the issue, the point still stands that demanding favors from your favorite artist when you see them on the street is a form of harassment. We have become desensitized to this behavior. Just because it is socially accepted or expected does not mean it's okay.

By standing up for herself and not tolerating this type of behavior, Roan is setting a precedent for future female artists in the entertainment industry. We should support her in creating boundaries, which is hopefully the start of shifting the standards for the treatment of celebrities.