Chappell Roan, whose attitude towards paparazzi, photographers, and audacious fans has long been a point of contention, was in São Paolo this weekend for Lollapalooza Brazil. But her Saturday night headlining set was marred by a bit of controversy after Brazilian footballer Jorginho alleged Roan's security team mistreated his 11-year-old daughter.
In a lengthy Instagram story posted in both Portuguese and English, Jorginho said that his wife, Catherine Harding, and their daughter happened to be staying at the same hotel as Roan. It's unclear whether or not Jorginho was there himself, but he described what he called a "completely disproportionate" incident between Roan's security, Harding, and his daughter: "During breakfast, the artist walked past their table. My daughter, like any child, recognized her, got excited, and just wanted to make sure it was really her. And the worst part is she didn't even approach her. She simply walked past the singer's table, looked to confirm it was her, smiled, and went back to sit with her mum. She didn't say anything, didn't ask for anything."
Then, Jorginho said "a large security guard came over to their table while they were still having breakfast and began speaking in an extremely aggressive manner to both my wife and my daughter, saying that she shouldn't allow my daughter to ‘disrespect’ or ‘harass’ other people. Honestly, I don't know at what point simply walking past a table and looking to see if someone is there can be considered harassment. He even said he would file a complaint against them with the hotel, while my 11-year-old daughter was sitting there in tears."
Jorginho concluded: "I sincerely hope this serves as a moment of reflection. No one should have to go through this, especially not a child." Finally, he tagged Roan and wrote: "WITHOUT YOUR FANS, YOU WOULD BE NOTHING. AND TO THE FANS, SHE DOES NOT DESERVE YOUR AFFECTION."
Jorginho's post has been getting a ridiculous amount of attention, including from Rio Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere: "As long as I'm in charge of our city — this young lady Chappell Roan will never perform at Todo Mundo no Rio," he posted in response, translated from Portuguese. "I doubt that Shakira would do that! By the way, Jorginho your little one is already the guest of honor from the organization in May!" (It feels worth noting that Cavaliere only assumed his role in office last Friday.)
Luckily Roan seemed to be in good spirits when she performed at Lollapalooza that evening. "I do not know when I'll be going back on tour again, so this is the last [show], and I'm so grateful that it's here," she told the crowd. "So thank you. And thank you to my crew and my security and my band and everyone behind the scenes." She didn't seem to be referencing the incident with Jorginho's family at all, but the way some folks are interpreting that sentiment make it seem like Roan publicly executed a child right there on stage.
Afterwards, Roan herself finally responded to the outrage in an Instagram story, pointing out that the security guard in question wasn't part of her personal security. "I didn't even see a woman and a child," Roan said. "No one came up to me. No one bothered me... I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child. They did not come up to me. They weren't doing anything. It's unfair to security to just assume someone doesn't have good intentions, when they have no reason to believe because there's no action even taken. I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do not hate children. Like, that is crazy. And I'm sorry to the mother and child, that someone was assuming that you would do something. And that if you felt uncomfortable. That makes me really sad. You did not deserve that."
