A visibly frustrated Chappell Roan clarified her views on the 2024 U.S. presidential race and her dissatisfaction with the political status quo, even as she admitted she would vote for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November.
And yet, Roan refuses to endorse the sitting vice president, saying that she won’t put her stamp of approval on policies or positions with which she disagrees.
“Endorsing and voting are completely different,” the pop singer said on TikTok. “I don’t agree with a lot of what is going on with policies. Like, obviously, fuck the policies of the Right, but also, fuck some of the policies on the Left.
“That’s why I can’t endorse. That’s why I can’t put my entire name and my entire project behind one. Because there is no way I can stand behind some of the Left’s completely transphobic and completely genocidal views.”
Roan has been critical of U.S. support of Israel and of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza in response to a Hamas terrorist attack earlier this year. She has also criticized the Biden administration for allowing cisgender people to determine what decisions transgender people are allowed to make about their own lives.
The latter assertion appears to refer to a White House statement regarding Biden’s belief that transgender youth should delay surgical interventions until adulthood — which some LGBTQ advocates and left-wing critics interpreted as condoning state-level efforts to ban such procedures. (The White House eventually partially walked back the comment.)
Roan previously garnered negative attention for comments she made to the U.K. newspaper The Guardian. In the interview, Roan took issue with some of the stances held by the major political parties — especially with respect to Gaza and transgender autonomy — and said she had major problems with both parties and didn’t feel the need to endorse a presidential candidate.
Many — especially on the political Left — interpreted her comments that there were issues on “both sides” as her equating the Republican and Democratic parties as equally problematic. However, Roan had previously made comments that were generally considered positive about the historic nature of Kamala Harris’s candidacy.
The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer posted a TikTok video on Monday responding to the criticism, arguing that her quote had been taken out of context “per usual.” She called on people to “use critical thinking” to determine what they support politically and encouraged them to “question authority and question world leaders.”
“If you come to my shows, if you read my full interviews, if you literally know anything about me and what I stand for, you know that this is not lip service, this is not virtue signaling, that my actions have always paved the way for my project and the people who really know me,” she said. “Actions speak louder than words, and actions speak louder than an endorsement.”
The next day, she followed up with another TikTok post, elaborating more on her views, but also noting that it would be her last riff on the subject.
“If you don’t get what I’m saying from this, it’s a lost cause,” she said. But the “Pink Pony Club” singer, appearing on camera looking as though she had just woken up, also vented frustration at people misunderstanding her nuanced, left-wing critique of the two major political parties in America — or, worse, deliberately misrepresenting her statements to push their own agenda.
She took umbrage that people were accusing her of being a closeted right-winger or trying to straddle the fence without taking a side in the upcoming election.
“Fuck Trump for fucking real,” Roan said. “But fuck some of the shit that has gone down in the Democratic Party that has failed people like me and you, and more so Palestine. And more so every marginalized community in the world. So, no, I’m not going to settle with what the options are in front of me. And you’re not going to make me feel bad about that.
“So, yeah, I’m voting for fucking Kamala,” she continued, mispronouncing the vice president’s name. “But I’m not settling for what is offered, because that’s questionable.”
She then added, “You know what? Endorsing someone — if someone is publicly endorsing a political figure, that doesn’t even mean that they’re going to fucking vote for them. Because as I said in my other video, actions speak louder than words. … This is not me playing both sides. This is me questioning both sides because this is what we have in front of us. … You’re not getting it. This is me critiquing both sides because they’re both fucked up.”
She ended the video by encouraging people to vote.
“Voting is all we have right now in this system,” she said, urging her followers to vote for whichever candidate they think is better.
“I hope this makes it clear that, no, I’m not picking the sides of what we have right now. Yes, one’s obviously better than the other. But Jesus fucking Christ, I hope you don’t settle for what we have, and put your name behind someone you don’t fully, fully trust, because of their blatant actions,” she concluded, a pointed reference to her dissatisfaction with the Biden administration.
Im done talking about it. If you dont get what im saying from this, its a lost cause. And im not forcing you to agree with me. This is my statement. Have a good day
A recent poll reported that LGBTQ voters favor Kamala Harris over Donald Trump by a nearly 67-point margin in the upcoming presidential election.
According to the poll, conducted in early August by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation in conjunction with the LGBTQ-owned research firm Community Marketing & Insights, 74% of LGBTQ voters plan to vote for the Harris-Walz ticket in November.
About 7.5% of LGBTQ voters plan to vote for the Trump-Vance ticket, with the remainder of LGBTQ voters planning to either select a third-party candidate or planning not to vote.
Chappell Roan is coming under widespread criticism for comments that she has made regarding her political views.
The singer previously made headlines for retaliating against a photographer who told her to "shut the fuck up" on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards, and complained about "creepy" fans who feel "entitled" to overstep their boundaries by infringing on the rising pop star's personal space and subjecting her to "abuse and harassment."
This time, in an interview with the United Kingdom newspaper The Guardian, the politically left-leaning, lesbian pop star said she has "so many issues with our government in every way."
Chappell Roan acknowledged the influence of the LGBTQ community in her work accepting the award for "Best New Artist" at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday night.
The 26-year-old, who had previously appeared on the red carpet in a 600-year-old robe, complete with a mint green cape, thigh-high boots, jewelry, a sword, and a medieval rug, changed into an armor-inspired outfit -- an homage to Joan of Arc -- to perform her hit single "Good Luck, Babe!"
She was still wearing the outfit when accepting the Moon Person trophy from fellow singer Tinashe.
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A visibly frustrated Chappell Roan clarified her views on the 2024 U.S. presidential race and her dissatisfaction with the political status quo, even as she admitted she would vote for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November.
And yet, Roan refuses to endorse the sitting vice president, saying that she won’t put her stamp of approval on policies or positions with which she disagrees.
“Endorsing and voting are completely different,” the pop singer said on TikTok. “I don’t agree with a lot of what is going on with policies. Like, obviously, fuck the policies of the Right, but also, fuck some of the policies on the Left.
“That’s why I can’t endorse. That’s why I can’t put my entire name and my entire project behind one. Because there is no way I can stand behind some of the Left’s completely transphobic and completely genocidal views.”
Roan has been critical of U.S. support of Israel and of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza in response to a Hamas terrorist attack earlier this year. She has also criticized the Biden administration for allowing cisgender people to determine what decisions transgender people are allowed to make about their own lives.
The latter assertion appears to refer to a White House statement regarding Biden’s belief that transgender youth should delay surgical interventions until adulthood — which some LGBTQ advocates and left-wing critics interpreted as condoning state-level efforts to ban such procedures. (The White House eventually partially walked back the comment.)
Roan previously garnered negative attention for comments she made to the U.K. newspaper The Guardian. In the interview, Roan took issue with some of the stances held by the major political parties — especially with respect to Gaza and transgender autonomy — and said she had major problems with both parties and didn’t feel the need to endorse a presidential candidate.
Many — especially on the political Left — interpreted her comments that there were issues on “both sides” as her equating the Republican and Democratic parties as equally problematic. However, Roan had previously made comments that were generally considered positive about the historic nature of Kamala Harris’s candidacy.
The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer posted a TikTok video on Monday responding to the criticism, arguing that her quote had been taken out of context “per usual.” She called on people to “use critical thinking” to determine what they support politically and encouraged them to “question authority and question world leaders.”
“If you come to my shows, if you read my full interviews, if you literally know anything about me and what I stand for, you know that this is not lip service, this is not virtue signaling, that my actions have always paved the way for my project and the people who really know me,” she said. “Actions speak louder than words, and actions speak louder than an endorsement.”
The next day, she followed up with another TikTok post, elaborating more on her views, but also noting that it would be her last riff on the subject.
“If you don’t get what I’m saying from this, it’s a lost cause,” she said. But the “Pink Pony Club” singer, appearing on camera looking as though she had just woken up, also vented frustration at people misunderstanding her nuanced, left-wing critique of the two major political parties in America — or, worse, deliberately misrepresenting her statements to push their own agenda.
She took umbrage that people were accusing her of being a closeted right-winger or trying to straddle the fence without taking a side in the upcoming election.
“Fuck Trump for fucking real,” Roan said. “But fuck some of the shit that has gone down in the Democratic Party that has failed people like me and you, and more so Palestine. And more so every marginalized community in the world. So, no, I’m not going to settle with what the options are in front of me. And you’re not going to make me feel bad about that.
“So, yeah, I’m voting for fucking Kamala,” she continued, mispronouncing the vice president’s name. “But I’m not settling for what is offered, because that’s questionable.”
She then added, “You know what? Endorsing someone — if someone is publicly endorsing a political figure, that doesn’t even mean that they’re going to fucking vote for them. Because as I said in my other video, actions speak louder than words. … This is not me playing both sides. This is me questioning both sides because this is what we have in front of us. … You’re not getting it. This is me critiquing both sides because they’re both fucked up.”
She ended the video by encouraging people to vote.
“Voting is all we have right now in this system,” she said, urging her followers to vote for whichever candidate they think is better.
“I hope this makes it clear that, no, I’m not picking the sides of what we have right now. Yes, one’s obviously better than the other. But Jesus fucking Christ, I hope you don’t settle for what we have, and put your name behind someone you don’t fully, fully trust, because of their blatant actions,” she concluded, a pointed reference to her dissatisfaction with the Biden administration.
Watch Chappel Roan’s full TikTik statement below:
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