Good luck, babe! Chappell Roan won’t tell Gen Z who to vote for

Chappell Roan isn’t a celebrity who adheres to the status quo.

The 26-year-old singer-songwriter made her mark on the music scene earlier this year through her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Roan’s catchy hooks, unguarded lyrics, camp aesthetics and unapologetic persona quickly garnered her a queer and diverse follower base.

But when the Midwest Princess herself told The Guardian that she wouldn’t be endorsing a political candidate in the upcoming US election, she experienced a new kind of rise and fall, with her decision polarising fans.

“I have so many issues with our government in every way,” Roan said.

“There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone. There are problems on both sides. I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote—vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.”

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Roan’s statement came after pop stars including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Charlie XCX shared their endorsements of Kamala Harris across social media platforms. Their posts intensified public pressure on Roan to do the same.

Ariadne Vromen is a professor at Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University (ANU). She explains that celebrity culture has a unique relationship with US politics.

“The social media context of the last 15-20 years has been really important in accelerating the urge for politicians to seek celebrity endorsements because those celebrities have huge social media followings that often dwarf that of politicians,” says Vromen.

“Barack Obama, for example, was really good at using the media and using social media, but his messages would be overshadowed by posts from celebrities like Taylor Swift”

These days, celebrities are expected to promote not just their art, but also what they stand for more broadly.

Promoting her personal politics is something Roan has never shied away from, proudly championing tracks such as Naked In Manhattan as queer anthems, calling out “creeps” on Instagram, and setting boundaries female artists so often find crossed.

“Roan is not neutral; she’s a progressive person with really strong political views. She’s strongly supportive of trans rights, queer rights, women’s rights, and these have been really important to her music and to her personally,” says Vromen.

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“A lot of her politics goes beyond electoral politics and is linked to big social change movements.”

But as much as Roan uses social media as a tool to unite fans behind her causes, it has also become the place where followers attack her for refusing to endorse a presidential candidate. Many of the responses ignore the context of her original comments.

“Once you make a message, you can’t really control how that is distributed, how it’s heard, or even what audience it ends up reaching,” Vromen says.

“Everything now is really rapid response. There isn’t a lot of time for people to step back or do things in a measured way.”

The febrile environment of this election isn’t helping to slow commentary within the media and online.

For Gen Z, Harris has become an obvious choice, driving online support for ‘Kamalove’ and rallying with celebrities who have fallen from the same coconut tree.

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“Commentary that is not necessarily always pro-Democrat and pro-Harris, but is definitely anti-Trump – that’s what seems to be mobilising more people,” Vromen says.

“Harris’s campaign has focused on young people, and especially young Black people and their experience these days in the US. That has changed nature of the campaign, and it has also changed the kind of people paying attention to it.”

“Clearly, the backlash that Roan has suffered has come from Democrat campaigners who wanted her to make a statement about Harris quite overtly, even though she is saying that she won’t vote for Trump.”

What Roan’s highly-criticised statement makes clear is that she believes young people should feel empowered to make their own decisions going into this election.

“We live in a time that puts a lot of pressure on celebrities who are, first and foremost, making music and producing culture. They haven’t gone into music to become the voice of their generation,” says Vromen.

“What Roan is saying in this election isn’t unusual. She wants people to use their voice, have a say and go out and vote.”