Chappell Roan has spoken out amid what she has described as “clickbait” headlines about her political stance.
Last week, the Pink Pony Club singer sat down with The Guardian for a wide-ranging interview, in which she discussed the fact she has not endorsed a candidate in the upcoming US election.
“I have so many issues with our government in every way,” she told the newspaper. “There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone.”
Pointing out problems on “both sides” of the political spectrum, Chappell encouraged people to “use your critical thinking skills, use your vote – vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city”.
She also said a critical issue for her when voting is “trans rights”, insisting: “They cannot have cis people making decisions for trans people, period.”
Following this, a wave of headlines about Chappell’s politics arose, which she has now addressed in a TikTok video claiming her remarks have been “completely taken out of context”.
“There is nuance to what I say in interviews, and I think it’s important that people use critical thinking,” she said on Tuesday night.
“I think it’s important for me to question authority and question world leaders and question myself and question my algorithm, question if some person that tweeted something about someone else is even true. It’s important to question because that’s how I think we move forward.
“This is my third election in voting, and the world is changing so rapidly and I want to be part of the generation that changes things for good, because we need it.”
“Actions speak louder than words, and actions speak louder than an endorsement,” she continued. “No, I’m not voting for Trump, and yes, I will always question those in power and those making decisions over other people.
“And I will stand up for what’s right and what I believe in. I’m sorry that you fell for the clickbait.”
Over the summer, Chappell revealed she’d turned down an offer to perform at a White House Pride event, saying at the time: “We want liberty, justice and freedom for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.”
Around this time – when Joe Biden was still planning to run for re-election – she spoke to Rolling Stone about her decision.
She revealed that she had initially considered accepting the invitation only to refuse to perform and and reading out poetry by Palestinian women as a protest.
“I was trying to do it as tastefully as I could because all I wanted to do was yell. I had to find something that’s tasteful and to the point and meaningful, and not make it about me and how I feel,” she recalled.
However, she was talked out of this by her protest, who told her: “You fuck with the president and the government, your security is not the same, and neither is your family’s.”
“I saw a couple of TikToks where they were like, ‘So she’s pro Trump?’,” she continued, her face apparently “contorting into disgust”. “It is not so black and white that you hate one and you like the other. No matter how you say it, people are still going to be pissed for fucking some reason.
“I’m not going to go to the White House because I am not going to be a monkey for Pride. And thank God I didn’t go because they just made a huge statement about trans kids a couple weeks ago.”
She added at the time: “I’m pretty, ‘Fuck the government, and fuck everything that’s going on right now’. I don’t have a side because I hate both sides, and I’m so embarrassed about everything going on right now.”