Indie pop singer Chappell Roan expressed a nuanced stance on her support for Vice President Kamala Harris, stirring controversy online.
The singer took to TikTok to declare her support for Kamala, but announced that she's not entirely happy with "what has been offered." As such, several fans criticized her, prompting Ethel Cain to jump to her defense in a series of Tumblr posts.
Cain, known for her track American Teenager, took to Tumblr on September 26 to back Chappell Roan up. On her only social media account, she noted that Roan was correct in her stance. In her first two posts, the singer stated:
"chappell is right tho. like yall cannot be stupid enough to scream f**k israel all year (rightfully so) and then go happily vote for kamala and meme the f**k out of her like everybody did trump like she didn’t just get up on that debate stage and say israel has the right to blow the entire levant to smithereens.”
In the past, Harris has been vocal about her support for arming Israel with the ability to "defend itself and in particular, as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies posed to Israel," she said on September 10, during the presidential debate.
In a third post, Cain continued to back Chappell Roan's stance, noting,
"The fact that even slight criticism of kamala, the public servant we’re expected to elect as the PRESIDENT of our COUNTRY as the PROGRESSIVE option, is seen as immediate unwavering support of trump… yall cannot actually be this stupid, i don’t want to believe it.”
Notably, the posts have since been taken down. However, PopBase, an account on X, acquired screenshots and circulated them online, driving fans to react to it with reproval.
Some claim the two are engaging in a ploy for attention, as one user on X said, "Kamala never even said that omg I can’t stand these two performative activists."
Soon, the masses began pouring in their thoughts in the comments section, noting that they had no choice, it was either Trump or Harris.
"They do realize that if Kamala loses Trump wins right?" one user questioned.
"I agree but stop fighting Kamala and fight Trump instead. this is not making anything better," another user concurred.
"It’s either Harris or Trump. That’s the reality. What’s there to question? ETA for clarification: with our electoral college system a third party candidate cannot get enough electoral college votes to win. We went through this in 2016," yet another said.
Several others commented, either agreeing with Chappell Roan and Cain or dissing them.
"You vote for Kamala, and you lament that you have to vote for Kamala. Which is what Chappell was saying," another pointed out.
"Before y’all come for Ethel: This doesn’t make her a Trump supporter. She’s just acknowledging that Kamala isn’t as good as people say she is. (Still better than Trump though)," another user stated.
"Why do people act like Trump is pro Palestine [,] kamala is the better option amongst the two," yet another said.
Chappell Roan claims it's a "lost cause" if no one understands her
In an interview with The Guardian, which came out on September 20, 2024, Chappell Roan shared her thoughts on the upcoming presidential election, noting that she doesn't "feel pressured to endorse someone."
"There’s problems on both sides. I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote – vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.”
Last week, Chappell Roan took to TikTok to clarify what she meant when she said she's not entirely happy with Trump or Kamala, but made it clear that she would be voting for the latter. On Tuesday, in the first video, she said,
"There is nuance to what I say in interviews and I think it’s important that people use critical thinking. I think it’s important for me to question authority and question world leaders and question myself, question my algorithm, question if some person that tweeted something about someone else is even true. There is no way I can stand behind some of the left’s completely transphobic and completely genocidal views. F**k Trump for f**king real, but f**k some of the shit that has gone down in the Democratic Party that has failed people like me and you, and more so Palestine.”
She continued, calling on everyone to think twice before they cast their vote:
"Vote for who in your mind is the best option for what we have right now because it’s all we can do. Yes, one’s obviously better than the other. But Jesus fu***ng Christ, I hope you don’t settle for what we have and put your name behind someone that you don’t fully fully trust because of their blatant actions.”
Chappell Roan backed the first video up with another the day after, stating:
"I’m critiquing both sides because they’re both so f**ked up. Im done talking about it. If you dont get what im saying from this, its a lost cause. And im not forcing you to agree with me. This is my statement. Have a good day.”
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Chappell Roan recently dropped out of the All Things Go music festival in NYC and Maryland, revealing on Instagram that things were getting "overwhelming" for her, and she is "really feeling it." The singer has a longstanding battle with depression.
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