US singer-songwriter Chappell Roan arrives to attend the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 11, 2024. Image: AFP/ANGELA WEISS
The power of online music fandoms to create political hype has crystalized in recent US election cycles — see the Swifties — but the backlash against Chappell Roan over a presidential endorsement has highlighted so-called stan culture’s ferocity.
The recent drama around Roan has underscored a growing pressure on some artists to weigh in on the US presidential vote, especially from their own fans, who frequently perceive a sense of entitlement to their idols.
Roan, a young pop superstar who exploded into the mainstream earlier this year, faced rabid criticism over the past week after abstaining from giving a celebrity endorsement to either candidate, saying in a newspaper interview that US politics “has problems on both sides.”
Her stance left her the target of online vitriol, and her clarification in two TikTok videos that her inclination to “question authority and question world leaders” doesn’t mean she’s voting for Donald Trump only made the commotion louder.
The 26-year-old artist who identifies as queer said in addition to despising Trump she is disappointed in the Democratic Party for a number of reasons, including its support of Israel’s war in Gaza.
She would vote for Kamala Harris, Roan insisted, but that didn’t place the Democrat above criticism.
That didn’t quell the uproar, however, and ultimately the “Pink Pony Club” singer dropped out of two festival shows, saying she was “unable to perform.”
“Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it,” Roan said. “I need a few days to prioritize my health.”
‘Illusion of intimacy’
Many musicians including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Doja Cat have either alluded to in song or openly discussed the ownership fans appear to feel they have over their personal lives — amplified by the need for musicians and aspiring stars to be active on social media.
As fans turn access via social media into parasocial relationships, it creates an “illusion of intimacy,” said Petra Gronholm, a professor focused on global mental health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
When it comes to celebrity politics, there’s an “idea of validation” at play, she said.
“You want them to publicly stand for what you perhaps believe they stand for, or assume they stand for, or want them to stand for — to sort of mirror yourself in them.”
It’s a particularly acute feeling when it comes to music: “There’s always a sense with an actor that what’s happening on the screen is a role, and it’s not really reflecting who they are as an individual,” said Mark Clague, a musicologist at the University of Michigan.
“Whereas with a pop song, the authenticity and its ability to speak is sort of that it’s coming from an honest place, a place of vulnerability in the artist.”
Social media has exacerbated demands that some musicians, especially those new to the scene, make their positions known.
“That kind of stardom can feel more fickle,” said David Jackson, a politics professor at Bowling Green State University. “There’s probably a greater awareness, a greater need among celebrities in a highly social mediatized environment to keep the pulse of what their fans are thinking.”
And life online doesn’t leave a lot of room for nuance, as Roan discovered.
“Things feel more dichotomous now than real life actually is,” Jackson said.
‘Instill devotion’
For fans, an endorsement isn’t even necessarily about political impact, it can be more about making listeners feel secure that their musical taste aligns with their worldview.
Jackson said allegiance to an artist is not dissimilar to consumer choices in other areas of life, how people dress, where they live, and what they eat all have the potential to make a statement about their political convictions or the persona they want to present.
“Entertainment takes up a significant portion of people’s discretionary dollars,” Jackson said. “I don’t think it’s entirely unreasonable for fans to be at least interested in wanting to know where the celebrities that they’re giving money to stand.”
When it comes to the actual campaign, though, it’s difficult to assess the true impact of celebrity endorsement.
In the case of Harris, Jackson said celebrity backing appears “aimed at mobilization more than persuasion.”
When Swift endorsed Harris she also posted a voter registration link, which more than 400,000 people clicked in the 24 hours after she shared it.
Swift’s megastardom makes her a uniquely influential voice — but music can also be a particularly inspiring art form, Clague said.
“The thing that’s interesting about music, that’s common to both religion and politics, is how music is used to instill devotion,” he said. “And to motivate people to take action.”