On the heels of blasting the “abuse and harassment” accompanying fame to her 3.4 million TikTok followers—prompting ridicule and pushback—pop music sensation Chappell Roan has pulled out of a major music festival, citing a need to “prioritize my 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,” the “Hot to Go” singer, referring to the festival she was to headline in both New York City and Washington D.C., shared in an Instagram story. “Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it.”
In the story, also shared by the All Things Go account, she continued, “I feel pressures to prioritize a lot of things right now and I need a few days to prioritize my health. I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible. Thank you for understanding. Be Back soon xox.”
It’s not the first time Roan, who just won Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, has been open about her mental health struggles. In 2022, before she blew up as an international superstar, she shared her bipolar 2 diagnosis in a post to Instagram, explaining that she was on meds, “in full-swing hypomania,” when she released her single “Naked in Manhattan,” and in intensive therapy four days a week.
“I don’t really talk about it much, but it affects me daily and is a pretty big part of my music,” she wrote. “I’m in a healthy spot, just wanted to share and I think it’s important to talk about mental health.”
In June, she stopped a concert in North Carolina to say, “I just want to be honest with the crowd. I just feel a little off today because I think that my career is just kind of going really fast and it’s really hard to keep up. I’m just being honest that I’m just having a hard time today.” Her announcement was met with chants of, “We love you!”
More recently, the 26-year-old star told The Face she was thinking about quitting the music industry due to pressure and verbal harassment from fans.
“This industry and artistry fucking thrive on mental illness, burnout, overworking yourself, overextending yourself, not sleeping. You get bigger the more unhealthy you are. Isn’t that so fucked up?” she told the outlet. “The ambition is: how do I not hate myself, my job, my life, and do this?” she says. “Because right now, it’s not working. I’m just scrambling to try to feel healthy.”
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, nearly 23% of U.S. adults—or 1 in 5—experience mental illness. LGBTQ individuals like Roan, meanwhile, are more than twice as likely as heterosexual men and women to have a mental health disorder in their lifetime, and 2.5 times more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and substance misuse compared with heterosexual individuals according to the American Psychiatric Association.
Roan might be one of the most outspoken celebrities to address the rigors of fame. But she is also among a rising chorus of others who are trying to break the stigma around mental-health issues. Others including tennis great Naomi Osaka, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, and Prince Harry have shared openly about their struggles, as have pop stars Charli XCX, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Bebe Rexha and Billie Eilish.
“I was so unhappy last year … I was so unhappy and I was so, like, joyless. I didn’t ever think I would be happy again, ever,” Eilish told Gayle King in 2020 about dealing with sudden fame. “I don’t want to be too dark, but I genuinely didn’t think I would, like, make it to, like, 17.”
Such frank conversations are important, according to at least one study on the topic, which found that they can raise awareness and change attitudes and behaviors. Petra Gronholm, a research fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London echoed that in 2023, telling the Washington Post that such openness gives non-famous people permission to be truthful and find help, too.
“If they see celebrities doing that,” she said, “they might do it themselves.”
As one fan commented to Roan on a recent TikTok: “Thank u for being vulnerable with us, and setting your boundaries. Love you Chappell Roan 🩷🩷🩷. You’ve given a lot of LGBTQ+ (me included) a voice and music we can relate to.”
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