Chappell Roan Explains Viral Moment With Photographer at MTV VMAs

Chappell Roan is clearing the air about that viral red carpet moment at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.

Roan, 26, was seen clapping back at a photographer who shouted at her to “shut the f–k up” while she walked the red carpet at the UBS Arena in New York on Wednesday, September 11. In a widely circulated clip on social media, the “Hot to Go!” singer hit back, “You shut the f–k up. No, not me, bitch.”

“This is quite overwhelming and quite scary,” the four-time VMAs nominee later explained to Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet. “I think for someone who gets a lot of anxiety around people yelling at you … the carpet is horrifying, and I yelled back. You don’t get to yell at me like that.”

Roan, who won Best New Artist and performed her hit song “Good Luck, Babe!” at the ceremony, has previously been open about dealing with her burgeoning fame and setting boundaries with fans.

Chappell Roan reacts to being yelled at by photographers on the #VMAs black carpet: “The carpet is horrifying, and I yelled back!” pic.twitter.com/SqUbGdBhnm

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) September 11, 2024

“I just want to be honest with the crowd. I just feel a little off today because I think that my career is just kind of going really fast and it’s really hard to keep up. I’m just being honest that I’m just having a hard time today,” Roan said during a June performance. “I’m not trying to give you a lesser show, it’s just, there’s a lot. Thank you for understanding. This is all I’ve ever wanted. It’s just heavy sometimes.”

In August, Roan shared her candid thoughts on fans who feel entitled to photos with her, or a hug, when they meet her in person.

“If you saw a random woman on the street, would you yell at her from the car window? Would you harass her in public?” Roan said in the first of two TikTok videos. “Would you go up to a random lady and say, ‘Can I get a photo with you?’ and she’s like, ‘No, what the f–k,’ and then you get mad at this random lady?”

Roan continued, “Would you be offended if she says no to your time because she has her own time? Would you stalk her family? Would you follow her around? Would you try to dissect her life and bully her online?”

“I’m a random bitch. You’re a random bitch. Just think about that for a second,” the singer concluded the video.

In a second video, Roan called out fans’ “creepy behavior,” saying, “I don’t care that abuse and harassment, stalking, whatever, is a normal thing to do to people who are famous or a little famous.”

She continued, “I don’t care that it’s normal. I don’t care that this crazy type of behavior comes along with the job, the career field I’ve chosen. That does not make it OK. That doesn’t make it normal. It doesn’t mean I want it. It doesn’t mean that I like it.”