Cassidy Whaley - Good Luck, Babe: Chappell Roan’s Fight Against an Industry Built to Break Her

Chappell Roan, born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, has rapidly emerged as a queer music icon. Although she’s been creating music for nearly a decade — spending five of those years with Atlantic Records — her breakthrough came in late 2023. Over nine months, her monthly Spotify listeners skyrocketed from under 1 million to nearly 21 million. Roan’s 80s-inspired vocals and unapologetic representation of lesbians in mainstream music have drawn both praise and controversy. But it’s not just her talent that’s making headlines: it’s her rejection of the “rules” of celebrity culture.

Roan’s most notable controversy erupted after she posted a TikTok about the 2024 presidential election. Her video came in response to criticism for refusing to endorse a candidate during a previous interview with The Guardian. While her comments were indeed polarizing, the backlash she faced went beyond fair critique. Social media users flocked to TikTok and X, blasting her with accusations that she “needs PR training” and bitterly claiming she should have stayed “gay famous.” Shortly after, Roan canceled her appearances at the All Things Go festivals in Washington, D.C. and New York City, citing mental health needs. Instead of sympathy, she was met with accusations of being unfit for fame.

This pattern of backlash highlights more than one artist’s struggles; it exposes a deep cultural discomfort with celebrities who challenge the public’s long-standing expectations. By rejecting traditional norms and speaking openly about her bipolar II disorder, Roan disrupts a celebrity industry built on control, commodification, and polished perfection — an industry in desperate need of change.

Roan’s refusal to grant the public constant access to her life has further identified her as a polarizing figure. She’s openly expressed a dislike for invasive photography and has asked fans not to use her non-stage name. In doing so, she’s pushing back against an industry that profits from the commodification of celebrity personas. As Graeme Turner explains, this expectation of access is not new. The rise of candid celebrity images in the late 19th century established a cultural obsession with the private lives of public figures, turning their most personal moments into commodities (Turner, 2014, p. 144-147). Today’s digital landscape has only amplified this, making celebrity content readily accessible at all times. Roan’s resistance to this cycle — refusing to be endlessly available or “perfect” — challenges the public’s idea of what it means to be famous. Unsurprisingly, this makes many uncomfortable.

The backlash Roan faces mirrors the treatment of other stars, like Britney Spears, who’ve been punished for not fitting neatly into the industry’s mold. Researcher Akhil Vaidya and author Jessa Lingel note how media coverage of Spears’ mental health struggles often turned her challenges into fuel for a ridicule fire, painting her as out of control rather than as someone navigating personal hardships in solitude (Vaidya & Lingel, 2024, p. 1-2). Similarly, Roan’s openness about her bipolar II disorder — from discussing hypomania during the release of her single “Naked in Manhattan” to sharing her experiences in intensive outpatient therapy — has been met with judgment rather than understanding.

Why does this discomfort persist? As journalist and author Maya Phillips explains, media representations of mental illness tend to flatten complexity, reducing disorders to “amorphous” stereotypes or tidy narratives that don’t accurately portray multi-faceted struggles and strengths (Phillips, 2022, p. 183). These portrayals keep mental illness taboo and misunderstood, leaving the public unprepared to engage with genuine, unfiltered accounts like Roan’s. When her symptoms manifest publicly, they’re misinterpreted as erratic or unprofessional rather than seen as part of a larger struggle. This stigma perpetuates a system that polices not only fame but individuality. It also contributes to the running idea that illness is solely a struggle and not a strength.

This issue undoubtedly runs deeper than celebrity culture. It reveals how society continues to cling to harmful narratives about perfection and control. For decades, stars have been treated as commodities rather than people, expected to perform without flaw and suppress their struggles. Roan’s refusal to conform to these expectations isn’t just bold — it’s necessary. By prioritizing her mental health and authenticity over industry norms, she’s paving the way for a more compassionate and realistic understanding of fame for the musical generations that follow. Given the role of celebrities in influencing society, likely also for generations of youth to come.

Her efforts are not about gaining more notoriety but about creating space for future artists to exist as their full, complex selves. At its core, her experience serves as a reminder that celebrities are absolutely not products to be used for gossip and perfectionist desires. They are human beings with lives as complicated as our own. Roan’s rejection of a broken system shows us what’s possible when we prioritize mental health and authenticity over image, regardless of “cost.” The question isn’t whether we should embrace her approach but whether we’re ready to confront the outdated, harmful ideals that her actions expose. Fame doesn’t have to mean perfection, and Roan is proving that it shouldn’t.

References

The Guardian. (2024, September 26). Chappell Roan isn't endorsing Kamala Harris. She's taking a stand for critical thinking instead. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/sep/25/chappell-roan-isnt-endorsing-kamala-harris-shes-taking-a-stand-for-critical-thinking-instead

The Guardian. (2024, September 27). Chappell Roan cancels US festival appearance: 'Things have gotten really overwhelming'. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/sep/27/chappell-roan-cancels-us-festival

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT* (Feb 13 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com 

*Used to reduce redundancy in argument paragraphs (used to find synonyms for specific words that were repeated numerous times) and reduce initial draft that was roughly 200 over word count (suggested ways to rephrase my sentences to be less words). Analysis and argument is original and my own.

Phillips, M. (2022). Nerd: Adventures in Fandom from This Universe to the Multiverse. Atria Books. https://canvas.upenn.edu/courses/1788301/assignments/syllabus

Turner, G. (2014). Is celebrity news, news? Sage Journals, 15(2), 144-152. https://canvas.upenn.edu/courses/1788301/files/135308051?wrap=1

USA Today. (2024, October 2). Chappell Roan, bipolar disorder and how we mistreat artists. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/10/02/chappell-roan-backlash-bipolar-disorder-mental-health/75469814007/

Vaidya, A., & Lingel, J. (2024). #Freebritney: strategies of counternarratives and self-regulation in digital feminist counterpublics. Feminist Media Studies.