Chappell Roan has apologised to the wife and daughter of footballer Jorginho after he shared a “very upsetting” account of an interaction involving the singer’s security team—an incident that has since escalated into a wider backlash in São Paulo and beyond.
The controversy emerged over the weekend while Roan was in the country to headline Lollapalooza Brazil. Jorginho, whose full name is Jorginho Frello, took to Instagram to detail what he described as an upsetting experience involving his 11-year-old daughter and his wife Catherine Harding, who were staying at the same hotel as the singer.
Sharing a lengthy statement, he wrote in full: "My wife is in São Paulo for Lollapalooza Brazil. This morning, my daughter woke up incredibly excited," he said of Catherine Harding, who has an 11-year-old daughter with her ex Jude Law. "She even made a sign because she was so happy to see an artist she really admires, or used to admire.
Quero dizer que enquanto eu estiver à frente da nossa cidade - esta moça @ChappellRoan jamais se apresentará no Todo Mundo no Rio ! Duvido que a Shakira @shakira @Shakira_Brasil faria isso ! Aliás, @FrelloJorginho a sua pequena já é convidada de honra da organização em Maio! https://t.co/eASsS7Y3Ix
— Eduardo Cavaliere (@CavaliereRio) March 21, 2026
By coincidence, they're staying at the same hotel as this artist. During breakfast, the artist walked past their table. My daughter, like any child, recognized her, got excited and wanted to confirm it was really her.
The worst part is she didn't even approach her. 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."
He claimed that after his daughter walked by, "A large security guard came over to their table while they were still having breakfast and began speaking in an extremely aggressive manner to both my wife and my daughter, saying that she shouldn't allow my daughter to 'disrespect' or ‘harass' other people."
"Honestly, I don't know at what point simply walking past a table and looking to see if someone is there can be considered harassment," Jorginho noted before adding that a security guard and even said he would file a complaint against them with the hotel, while my 11-year-old daughter was sitting there in tears."
"He said his daughter was "extremely shaken and cried a lot," before bashing Chappell's disconnect with fans.
"It's sad to see this kind of treatment coming from those who should understand the importance of fans," he wrote. "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."
The situation quickly gained traction online and even drew a reaction from Eduardo Cavaliere, a senior official in Rio de Janeiro, who publicly criticised the singer. In a statement shared on X, he said Roan would not be welcome to perform in the city under his leadership, adding: "I mean that as long as I'm in charge of our city - this young lady @ChappellRoan will never perform at Todo Mundo No Rio. I doubt that Shakira would do that! By the way, @FrelloJorginho, your little one is already the guest of honor from the organization in May!"
Chappell Roan, Instagram Stories, 22.03
Roan responded with a personal video shared to Instagram Stories, denying any direct involvement and expressing regret over the incident. “I’m just gonna tell my half of the story of what happened today with a mother and child who were involved with a security guard who is not my personal security,” she said. “I didn’t even see. I didn’t even see a woman and a child. Like, I did not.” She added: “I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child. They did not come up to me. They weren’t doing anything.”
Addressing the backlash more broadly, she said: “I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do not hate children. Like, that is crazy. I’m sorry to the mother and child that someone was assuming something, that you would do something and that if you felt uncomfortable, that makes me really sad. You did not deserve that.”
The incident comes at a time when Roan’s profile has been rapidly rising on the global stage. Over the past year, the singer has built significant momentum off the back of her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, which has steadily grown in popularity through streaming and viral success online. Tracks from the record have become major fan favourites, helping her transition from emerging artist to one of pop’s most talked-about new names.
Touring has played a major role in that rise. Roan has spent much of the past year on the road across North America and Europe, with sold-out headline shows and major festival appearances significantly expanding her audience. Known for her theatrical performances and bold visual identity, she has built a reputation as a standout live act, drawing increasing crowds as her profile continues to grow.
Her headline slot at Lollapalooza Brazil marks another key milestone, as she continues to break into international markets and perform for larger audiences worldwide. The South American appearance forms part of a broader run of global dates, reflecting her growing reach and influence.
Despite the controversy, Roan’s trajectory in the music industry remains firmly upward. With a rapidly expanding fanbase, strong streaming performance and continued touring success, she is widely regarded as one of the defining breakout stars of the moment—making the handling of fan interactions, and the scrutiny that comes with it, an increasingly significant part of her public image.
Boy George has told Chappell Roan to “cheer up” following the singer’s recent confrontation with paparazzi in Paris, sparking a wave of debate online about celebrity boundaries and media scrutiny.
The former Culture Club frontman shared his thoughts on X on March 10, after a video of Roan challenging a group of paparazzi began circulating widely on social media.
In the clip, the “Pink Pony Club” singer can be seen filming herself while surrounded by photographers, who are shouting at her and asking for autographs. Addressing the situation directly on camera, Roan says she had already repeatedly asked the photographers to back away.
“I’ve asked these people several times to get away from me,” she says in the video before turning the camera toward the crowd. “These are all the people that are completely disregarding my boundaries.”
The footage quickly went viral online, with many fans praising the singer for standing up to aggressive paparazzi behaviour.
chappell roan was so fed up with the paps in paris that she decided to film them to show their faces in a video pic.twitter.com/Q6yo1HYXSP
— pop backup ꧂ (@favsbackupp) March 9, 2026
However, Boy George offered a different perspective. Posting on X, the singer — who rose to fame in the 1980s with Culture Club — suggested that dealing with paparazzi attention is part of life as a celebrity.
He wrote that after decades in the public eye he had learned that stars “don’t get a free pass once you turn yourself into a bird of paradise.” Addressing Roan directly in the post, he encouraged her to embrace the attention rather than resist it.
“Own your fame!” he wrote. “Cheer up girl. The world is at your feet stop kicking it!”
He also suggested that celebrities should respond to public attention with positivity, adding that “boundaries are boring” and advising the singer to “break them with the magic of kindness.”
His comments quickly sparked backlash online, with many social media users defending Roan and arguing that celebrities should still be allowed to set personal limits when dealing with intrusive photographers.
Several posts criticised the idea that public figures should simply accept unwanted attention, particularly when it becomes aggressive or invasive.
Chappell Roan fans were quick to come to her defence, in a fierce way.
One user wrote: “Why is everyone so eager to tell women to just take unwanted attention.” Another comment referenced Boy George’s past legal controversy, saying: “Maybe she should handcuff someone to a radiator instead next time.”
It's probably not helpful but I have been doing this fame thing for a while and you learn slowly and painfully that you don't get a free pass once you turn yourself into a bird of paradise. I watched @ChappellRoan filming the paps in Paris and I laughed because I have kicked off…
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) March 10, 2026
The remark referred to George’s 2009 conviction for false imprisonment in London, after he handcuffed a male escort to a radiator during an incident in 2007. The singer was sentenced to 15 months in prison following the case.
The exchange highlights the generational divide in how artists approach fame and privacy. Boy George became globally famous in the early 1980s as the lead singer of Culture Club, scoring hits such as “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me.” The band went on to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1984.
More than four decades later, Chappell Roan has emerged as one of the defining new pop voices of her generation. The singer’s theatrical stage persona and breakout hits have propelled her into the global spotlight in recent years, culminating in her own Best New Artist win at the 2026 Grammy Awards — 41 years after Culture Club won the same prize.
While George may disagree with her approach, several other musicians have voiced support for Roan’s stance on paparazzi behaviour.
Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan defended the pop star in a series of posts on his Instagram Stories, arguing that the harassment faced by artists can go far beyond casual fan interaction.
“Maybe they should just idk leave her alone?” he wrote initially.
In a follow-up video, he described how paparazzi often track celebrities’ movements in order to obtain photos or autographs that can later be sold.
“These people literally find out where you’re staying, where you’re flying in to, where your team, family, whoever is staying,” he explained. “They are clearly not your fans, they just sit outside places so they can try to guilt you into signing sh– so they can sell it.”
This is not the first time Roan has publicly pushed back against photographers. At the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, she confronted a photographer on the red carpet who she claimed told her to “shut the f— up.”
Chappell Roan claps back at a photographer telling her to ‘shut the f**k up’ at the #VMAs:
“You shut the f**k up!” https://t.co/tGiMm45H3D
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 11, 2024
The same year, she also called out another photographer at the premiere of the Olivia Rodrigo: Guts World Tour film, accusing him of being rude to her during a previous encounter.
Her willingness to challenge photographers has even had an impact on how events are run. At the 2026 Grammys, singer Sabrina Carpenter credited Roan with influencing the atmosphere on the red carpet.
According to Carpenter, photographers were noticeably quieter during the arrivals that year, joking that “Chappell really started a movement.”
Sabrina Carpenter jokes about it being quiet on the #GRAMMYs red carpet:
“It is very quiet, right?“
“She [Chappell Roan] whipped them into shape.” pic.twitter.com/bGUGcChePk
— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 1, 2026
As debates around privacy, celebrity culture and paparazzi conduct continue, the differing reactions from artists like Boy George and Chappell Roan highlight how attitudes toward fame — and the boundaries that come with it — continue to evolve across generations of performers.
