Chappell Roan praised for standing up to photographer who told her to ‘shut the f*** up’ at the MTV VMAs

Chappell Roan has been praised by fans for responding to a photographer who was heard telling her to “shut the f*** up” at the MTV Video Music Awards.

The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer, 26, who won the Best New Artist award at the ceremony in New York and was also nominated for Song of the Summer and for Best Trending Video for her “HOT TO GO!” video, pointed at the offender and sharply responded: “YOU shut the f*** up.”

“Don’t! Not me, b***h,” the singer, born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, added, before she resumed posing for photographers at the event on Wednesday night (11 September).

Roan was applauded by Twitter/X users for “standing up for herself” as a clip of the altercation circulated on social media.

“Chappell Roan is entering the industry with a sense of self worth that everybody applauds in other women as long as they endure mistreatment for a decade before developing it,” one person said.

“The world doesn’t understand how much we needed a harsh c***y celebrity again,” another fan added. “I’m tired of women having to play nice and cute. She’s so real and blunt and HOT.”

A third supporter said: “She had every right to snap back. Celebrities don’t have to sit there and take it when people are rude to them.”

Meanwhile, folk singer Noah Kahan also heaped praise on Roan, writing: “Love this…Way to stand up for yourself.”

Roan was also praised by fans for her emotional acceptance speech when collecting the award for Best New Artist at the MTV VMA ceremony, during which she read and excerpt from her diary.

The singer told the crowd: “I dedicate this to all the drag artists who inspire me, who inspire me, and I dedicate this to queer and trans people that fuel pop.”

She also gave a shout-out to the queer community in the Midwest of the United States, saying, “I see you, I understand you, because I’m one of you.”

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Roan’s red carpet disagreement comes shortly after the singer publicly explained why she needs to “draw lines and set boundaries” when it comes to interactions with her fans.

The US artist has been propelled to international fame in the past year, thanks to the success of her critically acclaimed debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, as well as a tour supporting fellow pop singer Olivia Rodrigo.

Roan initally called out fans for “creepy behaviour” in two TikToks, after they had allegedly begun stalking her and her family, bullying her online and turning abusive when she refused to pose for photos or give hugs.

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“For the past 10 years I’ve been going non-stop to build my project and it’s come to the point that I need to draw lines and set boundaries,” she said in a post to Instagram on Friday (23 August).

“[I’ve wanted] to be an artist for a very long time. I’ve been in too many non-consensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don’t owe you s***t.”

She continued: “I chose this career path because I love music and art and honouring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it.

“When I’m on stage, when I’m performing, when I’m in drag, when I’m at a work event, when I’m doing press... I am at work. Any other circumstance, I am not in work mode. I am clocked out.”