Chappell Roan is redefining fame in the digital age

Chappell Roan is everywhere. The Missouri-born pop singer has been propelled into superstardom over the past couple of months, much to the shock of the world and herself.
Roan’s meteoric success, though, is proof of the serpents that follow glory. Earlier this week, she posted a video on TikTok talking about the mistreatment she’s been experiencing as her stardom continues to rise.
“I don’t care that abuse and harassment, stalking, whatever is a normal thing to do to people who are famous or a little famous. … That does not make it OK. That does not make it normal,” Roan said.
The responses to her videos have been weirdly divided, with some people saying she doesn’t have what it takes to be a mainstay in pop music and others saying the mistreatment she’s experiencing is unfair and unwarranted – regardless of her status. The former, the idea that her refusal to swallow her mistreatment makes her ungrateful or unworthy of success is exemplary of how people view musicians and their celebrity in the age of social media. 
“Don’t complain about being hounded by people when you know good and well that this would be a byproduct of being successful in the entertainment industry,” said one X user.
“Oh no. Fix your attitude girl. We pay your bills b,” said another.
A post that says, “I kinda think she’s not really cut out to be a pop girlie,” has more than 23,000 likes.
What Roan is lamenting is a specific type of entitlement that people feel they’re owed by public figures – and the unhealthy relationships that breed this entitlement.
It’s become an increasingly Zoomer mentality that, by virtue of streaming their music or buying tickets to their tour, artists are supposed to be beholden to fans’ every desire.
“We made you famous” is the popular mantra.
I just graduated college.Instead of feeling pride and clarity, I’m fighting hopelessness.
But engaging with an artist’s offerings doesn’t mean you have a stake in ownership of the artists themselves. As a fan, you are only entitled to whatever your favorite artist chooses to give. Celebrities’ increasing accessibility via social media has made people feel closer to them than they actually are.
A large part of Roan’s fame is due to people admiring her authenticity, but it’s clearer now that people like authenticity until it conflicts with the version they’ve created in their heads.
Saying that artists who want to be treated like human beings instead of products aren’t “cut out for fame” is a way to absolve fans of their problematic behavior. To them, artists are supposed to adore being stalked and berated and obsessed over. Why else would they create art?
The truth is, no one is capable of “handling” fame. Countless celebrities have spoken about the downsides of life in the public eye.
It seems we’ve forgotten what happened to Britney Spears in 2008, when the pop star was first placed under a conservatorship after suffering a public breakdown.
Human beings aren’t capable of handling the ridiculous levels of perception brought on by fame; that’s why they find ways, some much worse than others, to cope. It’s good that Roan is trying to set boundaries early on. But what Roan is experiencing isn’t unique to celebrities anymore. The internet has democratized fame.
Katy Perry’s stuck in the past.’Woman’s World’ isn’t the feminist bop she promised.
Anyone can become a successful influencer or a viral moment, consensually or otherwise, if the algorithm allows. And the internet knows no bounds. Social media creates false intimacy to the point that people with a 10th of Roan’s following are experiencing similar struggles: Family members being doxxed, strangers approaching them in public, etc.
We’re all a bit overfamiliar online. It’s time we step back and realize we don’t really know the people who appear on our timelines and For You pages, and take responsibility for dehumanizing people in the spotlight.
People finding a problem in Roan establishing boundaries, especially at the height of her success, is nothing new for an internet that loves to tear people down just as quickly as it props them up. Let’s hope “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” isn’t a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Kofi Mframa is a columnist and digital producer for USA TODAY and the USA TODAY Network.