Chappell Roan is opening up about when she started to “give a fuck” about the criticism she’s received online.
The Grammy-winning singer, who is known to openly speak her mind, was recently asked by SZA during a conversation for Interview Magazine if she “gave a fuck about the backlash” she’s seen directed at her as a public figure.
“I didn’t, until people started hating me for me and not for my art,” Roan responded. “When it’s not about my art anymore, it’s like, ‘They hate me because I’m Kayleigh, not because they hate the songs that I make. That’s when it changed.”
The “Pink Pony Club” singer added that fans don’t know Kayleigh, only her public persona, Chappell Roan, “but when things are taken out of context, people assume so much about you.” The artist continued, “I didn’t realize I’d care so much. When it comes to my art, I’m like, ‘Bitch, you can think whatever you want. You are allowed to hate it with all your guts.’ But when it comes to me and my personality, it’s like, ‘Damn. Am I the most insufferable bitch of our generation?’”
She later admitted that “it makes me cry” when she reads criticism aimed at her, adding, “I don’t know if it will ever feel okay to hear someone say something really hateful about me.”
In response, SZA felt “relieved” hearing Roan’s vulnerability “because I felt like I was a punk bitch for feeling the way that I feel, because I’m just like, ‘Oh, maybe I’m just not cut out for this shit.’ Because everybody else who’s cut out for this shit doesn’t give a fuck. But that’s not true.”
Since skyrocketing to fame last year, the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer has made headlines for speaking out on a number of topics, including inappropriate fan behavior, LGBTQ rights (Roan is openly gay) and calling out record labels. She also previously clapped back at a photographer on a red carpet for their rude behavior.
Roan also noted that she knows “not everyone likes that” she isn’t afraid to “yell at a bitch on the carpet,” but that she’s currently trying to see if her outspoken nature “is sustainable” for her career.
