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Chappell Roan’s dad breaks down in tears as he reveals what the singer taught him about life

‘What she stands for is a lot of hope,’ the pop star’s father said

Lydia Spencer-Elliott
Tuesday 17 December 2024 03:27 EST
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Chappell Roan performs on Saturday Night Live

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Chappell Roan’s family were reduced to tears when discussing the singer’s personal and public impact during her latest interview.

The “Red Wine Supernova” singer, 26, is the latest guest on the Carpool Karaoke festive special A Very Carpool Karaoke Christmas alongside her mum Kara and dad Dwight Amstutz.

Speaking to Zane Lowe, who is fronting the special as guest host in James Corden’s absence, Kara and Dwight revealed how they felt when they first listened to Roan’s hit “Pink Pony Club”.

The song tells the story of a performer who wants to leave their hometown in Tennessee and dance in a club in Santa Monica “where boys and girls can all be queens every single day”.

The track features the lyrics: “Won’t make my mama proud / it’s gonna cause a scene / She sees her baby girl, I know she’s gonna scream / God, what have you done?”

After singing along to “Pink Pony Club” with the entire car, Lowe asks Roan’s mum how she feels about having partially inspired the song.

“I started to tear up just listening to her sing it just now,” says Kara. “We love her so much and we’re so proud of what she does and who she is and what she stands for.

“I love singing it with her at her shows and I love it when you can just see the people just respond to that song so much. And even when we’re grown up, we really care about what our parents think about us.”

Dwight also becomes emotional, adding: “I hope that that’s something that she always knows, that we love her so much and we could never not be proud of her.

“I think about this a lot and try not to get emotional about it. I already am… What she has taught me as a father is respect for other people and all people, and that’s what I want people to understand.

“Everything that is about her is about loving everybody, and she has taught me that.”

The interview caused many fans to well up while watching, too. “I should not have started my morning with this [because] now I am sobbing,” one person wrote on X/Twitter.

“I did not need this suckerpunch at this hour of the day,” another fan added.

Chapell Roan and her parents Kara and Dwight Amstutz being interviewed by Zane Lowe on ‘A Very Carpool Karaoke Christmas’
Chapell Roan and her parents Kara and Dwight Amstutz being interviewed by Zane Lowe on ‘A Very Carpool Karaoke Christmas’ (Apply TV+)

The “Casual” singer has previously admitted that her rapid rise to fame has been challenging for her parents.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, she revealed she was stalked by someone who came to her parents’ house unannounced. Her father’s personal phone number was also leaked online.

“So now I have to have security,” she said. “It’s so lame."

Elsewhere in the Carpool Karaoke interview, Roan opened up about finding her “quite religious” upbringing very suffocating.

“I know for a lot of people, it’s actually very freeing,” she said.

“For me it almost did the opposite, where I felt like I couldn’t be myself, that who I was was a sin and I was going to hell no matter how good of a person I was or how much I loved God, for being gay. And I just couldn’t handle feeling ashamed anymore.”

Chappell Roan at the MTV Video Music Awards
Chappell Roan at the MTV Video Music Awards (Invision)

Roan added she is “so grateful” for her upbringing in Missouri, even though she ultimately found liberation after moving to Los Angeles.

“[In a ] conservative community, I understand the fear and where it comes from,” she said. “It’s scary when it’s something you don’t know or understand.

“So it’s like one degree every conversation. Right? It’s conversation after conversation and not just giving up on people that had helped you when you were in diapers.

“That’s just not how I personally operate. The door has to be open or there is no learning.”

A Very Carpool Karaoke Christmas is available to stream on Apple TV+ and Apple Music now

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