Chappell Roan is making headlines for abruptly canceling two performances at the All Things Go musical festival just a day before it begins.
On Sept. 27, the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer, 26, pulled out of her scheduled performances Sept. 28 in New York and Sept. 29 in Columbia, Maryland, citing the “overwhelming” stress in her life and her need to “prioritize” her health.
“I apologize to people who have been waiting to see me in NYC & DC this weekend at All Things Go, but I am unable to perform,” Roan wrote in a statement in her Instagram stories. “Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it.”
“I feel pressures to prioritize a lot of things right now and I need a few days to prioritize my health,” she added. “I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible. Thank you for understanding. Be back soon xox.”
Roan, whose real name is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, shot to stardom over the summer thanks to a string of Billboard 100 hits and rave performances at music festivals like Coachella, Governors Ball and Bonnaroo.
The singer’s statement comes amid other remarks she’s made in recent weeks about struggling with her mental health and the challenges of sudden fame.
“Every time I walk through my front door, it just comes out of me,” Roan told The Guardian this month while discussing her meteoric rise to the top of the charts. “I can’t even help it, I just start sobbing and either being so angry at myself for choosing this path, or grieving how the curiosity and pure wonder I had about the world is somewhat taken away from me.”
Roan also revealed to the publication that she had recently been diagnosed with severe depression, after previously revealing a diagnosis of bipolar II disorder.
Roan has received mixed reviews for her candor about her need for better-defined “boundaries” with her fans — and her willingness to call out her more stalkerish admirers for their “predatory behavior.”
She echoed the sentiment earlier this month when she told The Face she “might quit” the music industry because so much of it felt like “abuse” to her.
Read on to learn more about what Roan has said about her mental health and fame.
Aug. 18: Roan blast fans for acting ‘creepy’ with her
On Aug. 18, the “Pink Pony Club” singer shared two videos on her TikTok channel slamming obsessive fans who act “creepy” with her.
“I don’t care that abuse, harassment, stalking, whatever, is a normal thing to do to people who are famous or a little famous, whatever,” Roan said in the videos. “I don’t care that it’s normal. I don’t care that this type of crazy type of behavior comes along with the job, the career field I’ve chosen. That does not make it OK.”
“I don’t want whatever the f— you think you’re supposed to be entitled to whenever you see a celebrity,” she said. “I don’t give a f— if you think it’s selfish of me to say no for a photo or for your time or for a hug. That’s not normal! That’s weird!”
“I’m allowed to say no to creepy behavior, OK?” she added.
Aug. 23: Roan calls out fans again for their ‘predatory behavior’
Roan called out her fans for their “predatory behavior” again in a lengthy statement Aug. 23 on Instagram.
Roan explained that she needed to “draw lines and set boundaries” between her and fans who feel they are entitled to “touch” her, “follow” her and act “creepy” with her when they meet her in public.
“I’ve been in too many nonconsensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don’t owe you s—,” said Roan.
The singer explained that when she is performing or at events, she’s “at work.” Otherwise, she’s “clocked out.”
“I don’t agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out — just because they’re expressing admiration,” she wrote. “Women do not owe you a reason why they don’t want to be touched or talked to.”
Roan specified that she was only addressing the types of fans whose predatory behavior “has become normalized because of the way women who are well known have been treated in the past.”
“This isn’t a group conversation,” wrote the singer, who turned off the comments on her post. “I understand that this is jarring to hear from a person in my position. I’m not afraid of the consequences for demanding respect.”
Aug. 29: Roan cancels dates on the European leg of her concert tour
On Aug. 29, Roan, whose career has skyrocketed since June, announced she was canceling concerts in Paris and Amsterdam and rescheduling a concert in Berlin because of scheduling conflicts.
“I am so sorry & very disappointed 🙁 I promise I will be back. I’m heartbroken thank you for understanding,” Roan wrote on X.
Sept. 11: Roan gets into a heated exchange with a photographer at the VMAs
While walking the red carpet at the 2024 MTV Music Video Awards, Roan got into a heated exchange with a paparazzi photographer.
In a viral video of the confrontation, Roan, who performed “Good Luck, Babe!” dressed as Joan of Arc and took home the night’s best new artist award, can be seen clapping back at a photographer who said to “shut the f— up.”
Roan turns around to point at the photographer, yelling, “No, you shut the f— up!” and then adds, “Not me, b—-.”
Roan opened up about the tense moment later to The Guardian, explaining that she didn’t intend to put up with the same bad behavior other celebrities have accepted until now.
“Some girls have been in this so long that they’re used to that, but I’m not that girl. I’m not gonna be a sweetie pie to a man who’s telling me to shut the f— up.”
Roan also addressed the critics who called her behavior at the VMAs “ungrateful,” saying, “They think I’m complaining about my success. I’m complaining about being abused.”
Sept. 16: She reveals she ‘might quit’ the music industry because fame feels ‘abusive’
While speaking to The Face in a profile published Sept. 16, Roan opened up about how she “might quit” the music industry because of interactions that feel “abusive” to her.
Roan described an altercation with two men at an airport that began when she refused to sign merchandise for them. One of the men grew angry and followed Roan in the airport, telling her she needed to “humble” herself. Roan ended up crying in an airport bathroom.
“I’m just like, ‘What the fuck is going on?’ I told myself, if this ever gets dangerous, I might quit. It’s dangerous now, and I’m still going. But that part is not what I signed up for,” she told the publication.
“I feel like fame is just abusive. The vibe of this — stalking, talking s— online, (people who) won’t leave you alone, yelling at you in public — is the vibe of an abusive ex-husband. That’s what it feels like. I didn’t know it would feel this bad.”
However, in the same interview, Roan expressed gratitude to the fans who treat her respectfully.
“But when people are like, ‘Whatever you’re doing, it helped me’ — I don’t think any award or any money or whatever can be exchanged for that compliment,” she said. “I don’t care about anything else, except giving space to people to be free. Because that’s what I needed so bad: freedom.”
Sept. 20: She reveals she’s been diagnosed with severe depression
Roan told The Guardian in a Sept. 20 feature that had been recently diagnosed with depression. The singer previously revealed on Instagram post that she had been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder.
“I’m in therapy twice a week,” she said. “I went to a psychiatrist last week because I was like, I don’t know what’s going on. She diagnosed me with severe depression — which I didn’t think I had because I’m not actually sad. But I have every symptom of someone who’s severely depressed.”
Roan said she believed her depression took root when her pop music career took off.
“I think it’s because my whole life has changed,” she said. “Everything that I really love to do now comes with baggage. If I want to go thrifting, I have to book security and prepare myself that this is not going to be normal. Going to the park, pilates, yoga — how do I do this in a safe way where I’m not going to be stalked or harassed?”
Sept. 25: Roan says she will vote for Kamala Harris after facing a backlash from fans
After facing a backlash over comments she made about politics in the United States, Roan revealed in a TikTok on Sept.25 that she planned to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris
Roan came under fire days before for telling The Guardian she wouldn’t endorse Harris or her opponent, former President Donald Trump, because she believed there were “problems on both sides.”
Many fans blasted Roan, who describers herself as queer, for not acknowledging the stark differences between LGBTQ policy position between Republicans and Democrats.
In her Sept. 25 video, Roan appeared visibly annoyed and was careful to emphasize that she wasn’t endorsing Harris.
“I’m not going to settle for what the options that are in front of me, and you’re not going to make me feel bad for that,” she said. “So yeah, I’m voting for f—— Kamala, but I’m not settling for what has been offered, because that’s questionable.”
“Obviously, f— the policies of the right, but also f— some of the policies on the left,” said Roan. “That’s why I can’t endorse. That’s why I can’t, like, put my entire name in my entire project behind one.”
Sept. 27: Roan abruptly drops out of the All Things Go festival
Roan made headlines again on Sept. 27 when she announced she was canceling her performances at the All Things Go festival, which kicked off the following day.
Roan shared the news in her Instagram stories, revealing that she was “unable” to perform because stressors in her life had “gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it.”
She added that she needed a “few days to prioritize my health” in order to “be present when I perform and give the best shows possible.”
The All Things Go festival issued a statement on X supporting Roan’s decision to drop out of the shows, saying “health and well-being always comes first.”