Chappell Roan Says She “Might Quit” If Fame Gets Dangerous

In a new cover story for The Face, published on Sept. 16, singer Chappell Roan said she “might quit” music altogether if fame became unsafe for her, and she said she’s getting close to that threshold.

“I told myself, if this ever gets dangerous, I might quit,” she told the outlet. “It’s dangerous now, and I’m still going. But that part is not what I signed up for.”

Speaking to The Face, she recalled being harassed by two men at an airport after refusing to give autographs. “It’s 5:30 in the morning, and there’s two guys waiting with a bunch of posters and sh*t for me to sign,” she said. ​“I know they’re not fans. I was like, ​‘I don’t sign anything at the airport, I’m sorry.’”

After saying no, Roan said the situation became alarming. “[One of them] follows me to the TSA line, starts yelling at me, and everyone just turns and looks,” she continued. “He’s like, ​‘You should really humble yourself. Do you know where you are right now? Don’t forget where you came from.’ I’m just like: ‘What the f*ck is going on?’”

She went on to describe the downsides of fame as “abusive.”

“The vibe of this — stalking, talking sh*t online, [people who] won’t leave you alone, yelling at you in public — is the vibe of an abusive ex-husband,” she explained. “That’s what it feels like. I didn’t know it would feel this bad.”

Lorde Gave Advice To Chappell Roan

Roan was understandably scarred by the incident, recalling that she cried in the bathroom and texted another singer, Lorde, in search of solace.

“She sent me a list of things I should do [in that situation],” Roan said. ​“Literally wrote down eight things she wished someone would have told her when she was going through it. And she went through f*cking hell. She was a baby!”

For now, Roan is navigating fame the best way she can, speaking out about invasive fan encounters on social media and publicly drawing boundaries with fans. Looking forward, she’s trying to figure out how to take advantage of her rapid growth without experiencing burnout from the fame.

​“I feel ambitious about making this sustainable,” she said. ​“That’s my biggest goal right now. My brain is like: quit right now, take next year off... The ambition is: how do I not hate myself, my job, my life, and do this? Because right now, it’s not working. I’m just scrambling to try to feel healthy.”

Roan would be fine missing out on Grammys, even though she’s predicted to receive several nominations when they’re announced in November. “I’m kind of hoping I don’t win,” she explained, “because then everyone will get off my ass: ​‘See guys, we did it and we didn’t win, bye’! I won’t have to do this again!”