No matter how bad a week you’re having, Chappell Roan’s has almost certainly been worse.
As you’ve likely heard by now, the pop star’s troubles began over the weekend, with allegations that her bodyguard bullied Jude Law’s 11-year-old daughter.
And the PR setbacks have only continued from there.
Much of the discourse has revolved around Chappell’s past, with many pointing out that there seem to be some discrepancies between statements she’s made about her upbringing and the actual reality of her early life.
For starters, Roan has stated that she grew up in a trailer park and that she’d “been poor” prior to blowing up in the music biz.
But as many online sleuths have pointed out in recent days, she was actually born into one of the wealthiest families in Missouri.
The grandfather who inspired her stage name, Dennis K. Chappell, was an insurance and real estate mogul, and her uncle Darin Chappell is a Republican state representative with a very conservative platform.
Chappell’s parents are both medical professionals who found success with a mobile veterinary clinic.
Now, the phenomenon of pop stars hailing from wealthy backgrounds is certainly nothing new.
Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Gracie Abrams are all the products of highly privileged upbringings.
But many believe that Roan’s case is different, as she’s allegedly presented herself as rising from poverty, despite the fact that, as one X (formerly Twitter) user alleged, “Chappell might come from more money than any other pop girl.”
Like Taylor’s, Chappell’s family seems to have done everything they could to put her in a position to succeed, including sending her to “Grammys Camp” and producing a 2014 “mini-documentary” about her life not long before she signed with Atlantic Records.
Celebrities polishing their creation myths is not all that unusual, but the backlash against Chappell keeps growing and growing, with one X user going so far as to accuse her of racism and homophobia.
“Lmao, I went to high school her. Anyone who went to Willard from 2012 to 2015 can tell you how insufferable, homophobic and RACIST she and her boyfriend were,” this user wrote. adding:
“Oh the STORIESSSS I have. I wish I could access my old phone right now but yeah, BF was on the baseball team and said hella racist sh-t to the teams competing against him. Chappell used to call Mrs. Shepherd (black female securtiy guard) Rasputia and other stuff in our school [group chat].
“Constant bullying and harassment from them. Kayleigh was in the theater club and got kicked out for spreading memes and images of a disabled student through snapchat during our sophomore year. She left Willard in 11th grade I believe.”
It’s important to note that the claims of bigoted behavior are unsubstantiated, and the tweet has since been deleted (but that might have been the result of backlash from Chappell fans).
And just because there’s major wealth in her family, that doesn’t mean that Roan has never experienced financial hardship.
Maybe Chappell will eventually issue a statement that will clear all of this up. In the meantime, it doesn’t seem that she’s lost many fans — with the possible exception of Jude Law’s daughter.