Chappell Roan, the pop star who has rocketed to stardom over the summer, abruptly canceled a pair of major festival performances scheduled for this weekend, citing “pressures” and the need to prioritize her health.
The sudden cancellations of the shows in New York and Columbia, Md., come after a tumultuous few weeks for Roan, in which she called out aggressive fan behavior, engaged in a verbal spat with a photographer on the red carpet at MTV’s Video Music Awards and became entangled in politics as fans scrutinized her leanings in the 2024 presidential election.
In a statement posted on her Instagram Stories on Friday, Roan said she had become overwhelmed by it all and needed to bow out her performances at the All Things Go festival.
“I apologize to people who have been waiting to see me in NYC & DC this weekend at All Things Go, but I am unable to perform,” Roan said. “Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it.
“I feel pressures to prioritize a lot of things right now and I need a few days to prioritize my health. I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible. Thank you for understanding.”
In the festival’s own statement, which was placed at the end of an Instagram Story that included posts from fans sharing their eagerness to see Roan, All Things Go said it was “heartbroken” by the news but supported “artists prioritizing their well-being.”
Roan released her first EP in 2017, was dropped by her label three years later and was playing shows as recently as last year for a few hundred people. But her song “Good Luck, Babe!” caught fire, and since a head-turning appearance at the Coachella festival in April she has seemingly been everywhere — and her crowds now number in the tens of thousands.
Saturday’s show at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens was to be her biggest New York concert since the Governors Ball festival in June. But in recent days, she has faced criticism over her comments to The Guardian in which she said that she did not feel compelled to endorse anyone in the 2024 presidential race, in part because the American government has “problems on both sides.”
She went on in the Guardian interview to “encourage people to use your critical thinking skills” and to “use your vote.” Roan, who identifies as queer and often has drag performers serve as her opening acts, also said that the rights of transgender people was her most important election issue.
But facing blowback over her comments in the Guardian interview, she clarified in two videos posted to TikTok this week that while she did not agree with many of the current administration’s policy choices, she would vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Roan has tour dates scheduled next week in Franklin, Tenn., Rogers, Ark., and Council Bluffs, Iowa, before two performances at the Austin City Limits festival.
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