Up-and-coming pop star Chappell Roan was recently awarded the Best New Artist Award at the VMAs on September 11th, 2024. Despite her newly given title, her debut album, “The Rise and Fall of The Midwest Princess,” and her sudden popularity, it certainly hasn’t been easy for her. With the sudden surge of popularity and becoming one of the top music artists in less than a year, Roan has expressed her concerns with the press and her obsessive “fans.” She has expressed several times since she has come into the spotlight her anger about how she has been treated, progressively becoming more urgent as the matter worsened, even going as far as to cancel shows after being ignored by the press, paparazzi, and her fans. If these events seem familiar, it’s because this issue of stalking, harassing, and breaking the boundaries of celebrities is not related exclusively to Roan. Press and fans constantly have access to Roan’s personal life, and this issue runs deeper than just a breach of privacy.
Celebrities have to constantly keep up a persona when they’re in the eye of the public, with the press and paparazzi drilling down on everything they do. The pressure that these celebrities face while in the face of the public can be draining, both mentally and physically, and on the off-chance that they may snap due to the constant pressure they feel from being a glorified persona to being an evil person in the eyes of the press, which in turn hurts their mental health more. What we forget sometimes is that this behavior towards a “regular person” would be extremely inappropriate, as well as a misdemeanor, bordering a felony. The press shouldn’t be allowed to have access to celebrities’ lives in harmful or abusive ways, and whatever news is printed or posted can potentially ruin a celebrity’s reputation or their relationships, all for a quick buck or a good story. This way of approaching a celebrity has become normalized for not only paparazzi, but fans as well, and that normalization stems from the way that the press and paparazzi treat people in the public eye.
It’s a difficult question to ask whether or not the paparazzi should even exist in our society to begin with, and regardless of whether people agree with not having paparazzi, celebrities can’t make that choice. Although there is an argument to be had, we’ve already seen a repeated pattern of celebrities’ lives being ruined because of the press and paparazzi, such as Britney Spears, or Princess Diana. So why would we let that happen again? The paparazzi and press undoubtedly negatively affect the lives of celebrities, so why should we continue this abusive treatment towards celebrities of the modern era? Treating people who happen to be starred in a movie, sing your favorite songs, or make your favorite content as if they don’t matter is inherently wrong, and that is often overlooked. Celebrities are human beings, regardless of fame or wealth, and that should not be forgotten.
