Through a message to fans written in an iPhone’s notes app on Aug. 23, Singer and Songwriter Chappell Roan sparked significant dialogue about the nature of celebrities and the dynamics of fan interactions—particularly concerning the boundaries of consent and emotional labor.
This message instigated immediate backlash for Chappell Roan, with many fans taking the boundaries set in place and weaponizing them against Chappell Roan. This has been compared to the phenomenon of parasocial relationships—one-sided connections where fans develop emotional attachments to celebrities, feeling as though they know them personally. Experts argue this has been amplified by social media as celebrities share intimate glimpses of their lives, fostering a false sense of familiarity.
As a society, we find ourselves in a situation where modern technology offers us unprecedented levels of connectivity.
“With social media, celebrities can really engage with their fans in a way that’s just different… It’s not through journalists,” said Maura Kelly, PSU Professor of Sociology. “It’s not through paparazzi, but that they can share whatever they want of their personal lives. And many celebrities do share a lot of what they’re doing kind of day-to-day, their thoughts, their feelings, their experiences.”
“It certainly can lead fans to kind of feel like they know those celebrities in the same way that they know their friends and family in everyday life,” Kelly said. “But of course, it’s one-sided, it’s imaginary… These parasocial relationships are not real relationships.”
Kelly noted the levels of fame that for example, The Beatles held in the 60’s and the screaming teenage girls who followed suit.
“This kind of thing has always been there, but it’s more ramped up in the age of social media because there’s so much more access to celebrities than there has been in the past,” Kelly said “Social media has changed the nature of parasocial relationships, but those kinds of relationships have always existed.”
Anna Shoemaker—a Musical Artist from Philadelphia—is currently in the process of releasing her second album, Someone Should Stop Her (SSSH). Shoemaker described her debut album as similar to a “diary entry” or “word vomit.”
“…We had a lot of rewrites, a lot of refining, a lot of thought, not for better or for worse, it just kind of was a different process…” Shoemaker said. “We put a lot more thought into tying up every loose end and making sure that all the writing is cohesive and that we are really telling a story.”
This album has been in the works for two years.
Shoemaker has passionately embraced her lifelong dream of making music since she was a child with no persona or defining separation between herself and her creative work as a popular artist.
“[Within] my debut album… I exaggerated a few things… but this album is really, really personal and it is a breakup album,” Shoemaker said.
Shoemaker is an artist who authentically connects with her audience by sharing personal experiences, making her relatable in today’s all-around challenging social landscape.
Shoemaker noted that with heartbreak comes valuable lessons.
“…You have to get your heart broken to grow and you have to go through these really difficult periods and I think I went through a really, really difficult period and this album is about that,” Shoemaker said. “I’m excited for what’s to come after that period.”
As Shoemaker continued to remain vulnerable in her music, listeners resonated with her music on a more intimate level.
“It’s really beautiful when people can connect and relate to your music, but… it’s only one part of you,” Shoemaker said. “I think it’s only natural to want to know more about the artist, feel like you know them, or feel connected to them… At the same time… it’s not really the artist’s job [to share]. I feel like a lot of times artists are expected to do a lot of things that have nothing to do with what they actually want to do. Like for me, I just want to write my songs and I want to play my songs, but I find myself, [having to] do a lot of explaining of things.”
Shoemaker expressed the vulnerability that comes from having her personal life so closely intertwined with her art.
“It’s a little bit scary because there is no separation between me and my art already,” Shoemaker said. “There’s nothing really protecting me from it… but it’s also like I wouldn’t rather have it any other way and I don’t want to be ungrateful when people want to talk about stuff, so it’s just finding a balance.”
This all raises the concern that famous artists have the right to maintain individuality and private lives despite their public personas—even while fans often feel entitled to emotional labor from celebrities.
“This kind of conversation really reminds me of the Sociologist, Arlie Hochschild, her concept of emotional labor, which she defines as the work of managing other people’s emotions in the context of paid work,” Kelly said.
“In Hochschild’s work and work that’s come after, it’s consistently documented how women are expected to do more emotional labor in jobs of all kinds compared to men,” Kelly said. “So I think in thinking about celebrities, when dealing with fans, celebrities are supposed to smile for the selfie with the fan, regardless of how they’re actually feeling. They’re expected to be respectful and loving to fans that are not always respectful and loving to them.”
Shoemaker highlighted that female artists often face greater scrutiny and pressure to fulfill these emotional expectations, leading to an even heavier burden. This dynamic not only affects their personal well-being but also complicates their relationship with fans, as they navigate the delicate balance between public persona and private identity.
“I think women are expected to kind of fall into line, be grateful that you’re even here, be grateful that people listen to your music when guys are able to be a little bit more [like] rock stars,” Shoemaker said.
“I think that women are expected to be more grateful than men,” Shoemaker continued. “I think when men are like, ‘F you, I don’t want to talk about it,’ they’re [considered] cool and they’re mysterious, but then if a woman, like if Chappell Roan says it, everyone’s like, ‘you’re so ungrateful, you don’t care about your fans…’’’
Kelly echoed this perspective, pointing out the larger cultural implications of these expectations on celebrities, specifically Chappell Roan, and particularly, how they navigate their boundaries with fans.
“I think that’s where kind of the Chappell Roan controversy kind of comes into this, where is the place for celebrities to kind of put down some boundaries and say, ‘Hey, I’m in this, I understand what it means to be famous in our culture, and I signed up for that,” Kelly said. “But what I didn’t sign up for was people non-consensually touching me. What I didn’t sign up for was people being rude when I just didn’t feel like taking that picture with them.’”
“One of the things that I thought was really interesting about the Chappell Roan comments in particular was how she connected her experience with fame to women’s everyday experiences of harassment,” Kelly said.
This connection highlights the broader societal issues surrounding gender and consent, illustrating how challenges faced by celebrities can reflect the everyday experiences of many women.
“In the Instagram post, one of the things that she wrote was ‘women don’t owe you shit.’ I think it’s really interesting that she didn’t say ‘celebrities don’t owe you shit’ or ‘I don’t owe you shit’ and instead she’s really situating her experiences on that continuum of harassment that all women face…” Kelly said. “I think that was a really interesting way for her to try to connect with her fans and say ‘like, yes, I’m obviously in a different situation because I’m famous, but the kinds of things that I’m experiencing are an extension of the kinds of things you’re experiencing in your everyday life.’”
Chappell Roan fosters a sense of solidarity amongst her fans, especially those who identify as women or members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Chappell Roan’s boundaries reinforce the message that everyone deserves respect and autonomy, regardless of their public status.
Similarly to Chappell Roan, Anna Shoemaker understands the vulnerability of sharing art that is deeply personal with the public.
“…Songwriting is like the worst parts of your life wrapped up in a nice pretty bow, sounding nice, sounding cool and that’s kind of my similar internet presence where I feel like I can be honest and I can be vulnerable online… to an extent,” Shoemaker said. “No one actually wants to hear you crying on the ground… Maybe if you do like a scream in tune with the song, then it [expressing heightened emotion] is cool.”
Anna Shoemaker—currently on tour with Musician Joe P. Shoemaker—commented on her upcoming album.
“…I’m just kind of completely stripping it back to how we started and it’s just really [made] me think about how important the writing is to me,” Shoemaker said. “I think that on this album, the thing I’m most proud of is the writing and how much thought and care I put into it.”
Shoemaker’s second album, Someone Should Stop Her will be released on all platforms on Feb. 21, 2025.
