Some online users are laughing at emerging pop star Chappell Roan’s viral video asserting boundaries with the public. Others are invoking the tragic story of Christina Grimmie to defend her right to privacy.
Last week, the 26-year-old called out fans in a series of social media posts for behaviors she deems “creepy.” And she demanded that they refrain from yelling at or attempting to touch her in public. In the first TikTok, she asked fans to question whether they would treat a random woman on the street the way they treat celebrities.
“I don’t care that abuse and harassment—stalking, whatever—is a normal thing to do to people who are famous, a little famous, whatever,” Roan said in a second TikTok. “I don’t care that this type of crazy behavior comes along with the job, the career field, I’ve chosen. That does not make it OK.”
What Chappell Roan asked and how it got to X
Roan reiterated this message in an Instagram post, clarifying that she’s experienced “nonconsensual physical and social interactions.” Therefore, she asked fans to respect her privacy going forward. “Please stop touching me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends,” she wrote in part.
Someone took a screenshot of the post and shared it to X. The caption reads, “And she’s not even that famous i can’t-”
This caught the attention of X user Ashly Nicole (@ashhpotato), a Los Angeles-based music photographer. Nicole previously told Voyage LA how the loss of Grimmie impacted her life.
Nicole reposted the screenshot on Aug. 26, writing, “My best friend, Christina Grimmie, also ‘wasn’t that famous’, and was MURDERED at her show because of people crossing boundaries and feeling entitled to her. How about considering something like that before trying to be cool and edgy by invalidating @ChappellRoan’s feelings and fear?”
Grimmie was a 22-year-old singer known for her appearance on season six of The Voice. Tragically, she was shot and killed in 2016 at a meet-and-greet by a man described as an “obsessed” fan by Yahoo. Three years later, Time connected the case to the assassinations of John Lennon and Gianni Versace. It noted that social media-era stars are “expected to be more accessible than conventional celebrities.”
Grimmie’s story is ‘more than a cautionary tale’
On Aug. 27, X user Cass (@casseneri) posted a photo of Grimmie along with the message, “Christina Grimmie is more than your cautionary tale.”
“I’m glad people remember what happened to Christina Grimmie & I plead that we work to prevent such tragedies from happening again,” she wrote in a subsequent post. “However, as someone who knew her personally & has been deeply involved in preserving her legacy, it’s sad to see her reduced to an example.”
She continued, “Grimmie’s situation may be an outlier, but it touches on Chappell’s concerns about ‘super fans’ whose intentions are never fully known. Still, we need to remember Christina as more than a statistic—she was a real person with an incredible spirit and immense talent.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Nicole via website contact form for comment. We also reached out to Cass and a representative for Chappell Roan via email for comment.
Update, Aug. 29, 2024: In a email to the Daily Dot, Nicole shared the link to the Christina Grimmie Foundation. Launched in 2017, the nonprofit works to support families impacted by gun violence.
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