Singer-songwriter Chappell Roan is attempting to clarify her political stance ahead of the 2024 presidential election after her non-endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris stoked outrage among Democratic fans last week.
But a new TikTok that attempted to clarify her comments, in which she stated she’s “voting for fucking Kamala,” is only fueling the outrage after she mispronounced the vice president’s first name.
In the video posted Wednesday, Roan criticized people for “skewing” her comments and added that “endorsing and voting are completely different.”
“I don’t agree with a lot of what is going on with like policies,” she continued. “Like obviously, fuck the policies of the right but also fuck some of the policies on the left. That’s why I can’t endorse. That’s why I can’t like put my entire name and my entire project behind one, because there is no way I can stand behind some of the left’s completely transphobic and completely genocidal views.”
Roan’s remarks are similar to what set off Harris fans in the first place, with commenters rebuking “her ‘both sides are bad’ argument” as “actually insane.”
In the latest TikTok, Roan elaborated why she isn’t comfortable fully endorsing Harris and the Democratic Party.
“Fuck Trump for fucking real but fuck some of the shit that has gone down in the Democratic Party, that has failed people like me and you,” she said. “And more so, Palestine. And more so, every marginalized community in the world. So no, I’m not going to put—I’m not going to settle for what that options that are in front of me. And you’re not going to make me feel bad for that.”
“So yeah, I’m voting for fucking Kamala,” she continued. “But I’m not settling for what has been offered, cause that’s questionable. It’s questionable that our actions of our government, the actions of the internet, the actions of you and me, if this is what you are not understanding. You know what? Endorsing someone—if someone is publicly endorsing a political figure—that doesn’t even mean that they’re gonna fucking vote for them because as I said in my other video, actions speak louder than words. And I’m not gonna let this narrative like me playing both sides, no no no, this is not me playing both sides. This is me questioning both sides because this is what we have in front of us.”
She concluded by encouraging everyone to exercise their right to vote “for who in your mind is the best option for what we have right now.”
“And I hope this makes it clear that no, I’m not picking the sides of what we have right now,” she finished. “Yes, one’s obviously better than the other. But Jesus fucking Christ, I hope you don’t settle for what we have and put your name behind someone that you don’t fully, fully trust because of their blatant actions.”
Roan’s remarks about Democratic transphobic policies are stoking another wave of outrage, prompting commenters to ask things like “are the transphobic democrat policies in the room with us now?” and “what the hell are you even on about?”
But while the substance of her remarks have drawn criticism, what is really stoking the most outrage is her pronunciation of “Kamala” like Kuh-mala instead of the correct pronunciation of Kama-la.
“Pronouncing Chappell Roan like Dave Chappelle until she learns how to say Kamala’s name correctly,” quipped one critic.
“Mispronounces Kamala’s name, Refers to it as settling, Still says fuck both sides,” wrote another person. “Yeah glad she’s at least voting for her, but girly-pop is just another disappointing internet zoomer through and through with no clear grasp of politics.”
“If you’re still saying kuh-MA-la on Sept 25, 2024 then you are getting all your info from within your little Republican bubble,” swiped someone else.
“All this ‘research’ she’s claiming to be doing and encouraging us to do too, while not knowing how to pronounce the name of the candidate she’s allegedly voting for…girl,” blasted another X user.
Rebuked someone else: “Pronouncing Kamala’s name ‘Kuhmaala’ was all I needed to know about Chappell Roan to ignore her views forever.”
“it’s like bare minimum to pronounce somebody’s name correctly,” concluded someone else.
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