Chappell Roan denies sending a security guard to reprimand an 11-year-old fan.
On 21 March, Roan found herself at the centre of a new controversy when professional footballer Jorginho Frello accused the “Good Luck, Babe” singer of making his daughter cry. He seems to be referring to his wife, Catherine Harding's 11-year-old daughter, Ada Law, whom she shares with her ex, Jude Law.
After the story went viral, Roan posted her own account, claiming she was not involved in the incident involving an “aggressive” security guard at their shared hotel. “That makes me really sad," she said of the child's experience. "You did not deserve that.”
Here's everything we know about what went down.
Jorginho shares his daughter's negative experience on Instagram
On March 21, Jorginho took to Instagram to explain a “very upsetting situation with my family” that took place at a hotel in São Paulo. According to the footballer, who plays for Clube de Regatas do Flamengo in Brazil, his wife and daughter were staying at the same hotel as Roan ahead of her Lollapalooza Brazil performance.
"This morning, my daughter woke up incredibly excited. She even made a sign because she was so happy to see an artist she really admires, or used to admire,” he wrote in his Instagram Story, referring to Roan. “During breakfast, the artist walked past their table. My daughter, like any child, recognised her, got excited, and just wanted to make sure it was really her.”
Jorginho claims Law “didn't even approach” the “Pink Pony Club” singer before being reprimanded by “a large security guard.” Instead, the athlete said "she simply walked past the singer's table, looked to confirm it was her, smiled, and went back to sit with her mum. She didn't say anything, didn't ask for anything.”
According to Jorginho, a security guard then approached his wife and daughter, spoke to them in an “extremely aggressive manner,” and threatened to “file a complaint against them with the hotel."
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Jorginho said the incident left the child “in tears,” adding, “My daughter was extremely shaken and cried a lot.”
He continued, "It's sad to see this kind of treatment coming from those who should understand the importance of fans. At the end of the day, they are the ones who build all of this. I sincerely hope this serves as a moment of reflection. No one should have to go through this, especially not a child.”
He then tagged Roan's Instagram and addressed the artist and her fans directly. “WITHOUT YOUR FANS, YOU WOULD BE NOTHING," he wrote. "AND TO THE FANS, SHE DOES NOT DESERVE YOUR AFFECTION.”
The story sparked intense outrage against Roan.
Needless to say, this story quickly went viral, with many social media users “assuming the worst” of Roan, as she's been heavily criticised for setting boundaries with fans and paparazzi in the past.
Even the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Cavalcanti, got involved, declaring he would not allow Roan to perform at the city's music festival, Todo Mundo no Rio.
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Roan denies sending the security guard to reprimand a child at her hotel
Now, Roan is speaking out, claiming she didn't know the incident occurred and that the security guard wasn't part of her “personal security” staff. “I didn't even see a woman and a child,” she said in an Instagram Story video posted on March 22. “I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child. I did not. They did not come up to me. They weren't doing anything. It's unfair for security to just assume someone doesn't have good intentions when they have no reason to believe, because there's no action even taken.”
Roan went on to clarify that she does not “hate people who are fans of my music,” nor does she “hate children,” as some critics have presumably suggested. “I'm sorry to the mother and child that someone was assuming something, that you would do something, and that if you felt uncomfortable,” she continued, adding, “That makes me really sad. You did not deserve that.”
Roan has been upfront about her struggles with fame
In August 2024, Chappell Roan sparked controversy when she called out “creepy” parasocial behaviour on TikTok. “I don’t care that it’s normal. I don’t care that this crazy type of behaviour comes along with the career that I’ve chosen,” she said in a series of TikTok videos. “That doesn’t make it okay. That doesn’t make it normal. That doesn’t mean that I want it. It doesn’t mean that I like it.”
That September, Chappell Roan cancelled multiple concerts after revealing she’s been diagnosed with “severe depression" and opening up about the dangers of fame. “The vibe of this—stalking, talking shit online, [people who] won’t leave you alone, yelling at you in public—is the vibe of an abusive ex-husband,” Roan said in one interview with The Face. “That’s what it feels like. I didn’t know it would feel this bad.”
Earlier this month, Roan put paparazzi and “fans” on blast in Paris. “I’m just trying to go to dinner, and I’ve asked these people several times to get away from me,” she says while recording the crowd around her, which was also captured by an onlooker. Roan said she felt “disregarded as a human,” telling her fans, "This is what it’s like, if you were wondering how it is.”
This article was first published on Glamour US.
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