Pop star Chappell Roan revealed in a TikTok video Wednesday that she’s voting for Vice President Kamala Harris in November, though she stopped short of endorsing the Democratic presidential candidate. The singer-songwriter’s announcement followed an intense and dayslong online backlash from her liberal fanbase.
The criticism was fueled after Roan, 26, told The Guardian in an interview last week that she didn’t “feel pressured to endorse someone” in the 2024 presidential election because there are “problems on both sides.” Some critics slammed her for the “both sides” comment in particular, pointing to widespread differences between Republican and Democratic policy positions on LGBTQ issues. Others called her a “closet Republican.”
In response to the backlash, Roan released a TikTok video Tuesday saying she was not voting for former President Donald Trump, though that message did little to quell the fan fury.
Visibly frustrated with her critics, Roan on Wednesday tried to clear the air for good on where she stands on the 2024 election.
“I’m not going to settle for what the options that are in front of me, and you’re not going to make me feel bad for that,” Roan said in a TikTok video that has been viewed more than 3 million times. “So yeah, I’m voting for f—ing Kamala, but I’m not settling for what has been offered, because that’s questionable.”
Clarifying her position further, she argued that “endorsing and voting are completely different.”
“Obviously, f— the policies of the right, but also f— some of the policies on the left,” Roan said. “That’s why I can’t endorse. That’s why I can’t, like, put my entire name in my entire project behind one.”
Roan, who is a lesbian, then cited transgender issues and the war in Gaza as reasons for not endorsing the Democratic ticket.
The pop star did not specify in Wednesday’s video which of Harris’ transgender policies she disagreed with. However, in an interview with Rolling Stone this month, Roan criticized a White House statement from June that expressed opposition to gender-affirming surgeries for minors.
Harris, who has been an outspoken supporter of gay rights throughout her political career, has largely been seen by LGBTQ activists as the most pro-LGBTQ presidential candidate in history. The official Democratic platform also states that Democrats will “vigorously oppose state and federal bans on gender-affirming health care,” “prioritize the investigation of hate crimes against trans and non-binary people” and promote anti-discrimination laws.
On the Israel-Hamas war, Harris has repeatedly said she supports Israel’s right to defend itself. At the same time, she has said her mission as president would be to ensure that the “suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
The Harris campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.
When asked about Roan’s remarks, Brian Hughes, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, said, “I don’t think young families in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, or Georgia struggling to afford a house and groceries care who a multi-millionaire, pop singer is voting for.”
Since catapulting to fame — and the top of the charts — in recent months, Roan has not shied away from politics. In June, during a performance at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City, she revealed that she had rejected an invitation to perform at the White House.
“This is a response to the White House, who asked me to perform for Pride. We want liberty, justice and freedom for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come,” she said to a crowd of tens of thousands.
She reaffirmed her position in the interview with Rolling Stone, saying, “I’m not going to go to the White House because I am not going to be a monkey for Pride.”
In the same Rolling Stone interview, Roan also spoke about not handling her abrupt rise to fame well. Her videos, where she often appears irate, on TikTok this week were among several that made headlines in recent months.
Roan ended her TikTok video on Wednesday by encouraging her fans to vote for whoever they believe is “the best option for what we have right now.”
“I hope this makes it clear that, no, I’m not picking the sides of what we have right now,” Roan lamented. “Yes, one is obviously better than the other, but … 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.”
It appears that at least some of her fans are taking notice.
An X account, Pop Flop, that is dedicated to pop culture news and went viral last week for sharing quotes from Roan’s interview in The Guardian apologized on Wednesday.
“Team PopFlop is sincerely apologising for the post regarding Chappell Roan’s issues with endorsement,” the account, which has over 36,000 followers, said. “We really didn’t understand the gravity of the situation and how bad it is until very much later on.”
For more from NBC Out, sign up for our weekly newsletter.
