Chappell Roan is being mocked and criticized on social media after being accused of leaving Jude Law’s daughter “in tears.”
Soccer player Jorginho, who is the girl’s stepfather, alleged the singer’s security guard accused his stepdaughter of harassment after an encounter while the 11-year-old dined with her mother, his wife Catherine Harding, at a hotel in São Paulo.
He did not name the girl in social media posts, but appeared to be referring to Ada Law. Harding, a singer who is also known as Cat Cavelli, welcomed Ada Law with Law in 2015.
Newsweek has contacted Roan’s representatives for comment via an email sent outside regular business hours.
The Context
Roan has previously spoken out about boundaries with fans and paparazzi. She has also clashed with paparazzi on several occasions.
She famously called out photographers on the red carpet at the 2024 Video Music Awards, an incident which prompted a widespread conversation about how paparazzi engage with celebrities.
Earlier this month, she accused a group of photographers of “disrespecting” her boundaries and “harassing” her as she left a Paris Fashion Week event.
What To Know
Jorginho wrote in lengthy Instagram Stories posts, shared in both Portuguese and English, that Harding and his stepdaughter were in São Paulo for Lollapalooza Brazil, where Roan performed on Saturday.
“This morning, my daughter woke up incredibly excited. She even made a sign because she was so happy to see an artist she really admires, or used to admire,” Jorginho wrote.
“By coincidence, they’re staying at the same hotel as this artist. 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.”
He said the girl “didn’t even approach” Roan.
“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.”
He alleged that moments later, “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 alleged the security guard “even said he would file a complaint against them with the hotel, while my 11-year-old daughter was sitting there in tears.” He added the girl was “extremely shaken and cried a lot.”
Jorginho said he had his own experience of being in the public eye and what happened was not a violation of any boundaries. “It was just a child admiring someone,” he wrote.
He continued: “It’s sad to see this kind of treatment coming from those who should understand the importance of fans. At the end of the day, they are the ones who build all of this. I sincerely hope this serves as a moment of reflection. No one should have to go through this, especially not a child.”
He concluded by tagging Roan’s Instagram account and adding in all-caps: “WITHOUT YOUR FANS, YOU WOULD BE NOTHING. AND TO THE FANS, SHE DOES NOT DESERVE YOUR AFFECTION.”
Harding reposted her husband’s posts about Roan. On Saturday, she posted a photo of Ada Law at a dining table at the five-star Palácio Tangará on her Instagram Stories. Later, she shared a post on Instagram that included a series of photos of herself and Ada with the caption, in Portuguese: “I left Lollapalooza with Ada.”
Since then, Roan has been the subject of criticism and jokes on social media, with Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Cavaliere saying Roan has been barred from performing at one of the city’s largest music events.
Others shared memes comparing Roan or her security guard to fictional characters, including the tyrannical Miss Trunchbull from 1996’s Matilda and Homelander from The Boys.
What People Are Saying
Chappell Roan said during her performance at Lollapalooza Brazil on Saturday: “Thank you to my crew and my security and my band and everyone behind the scenes. This takes a lot of people, so thank you.”
Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Cavaliere wrote on X, according to a translation from the original Portuguese: “I mean that as long as I’m in charge of our city—this girl @ChappellRoan will never perform at Todo Mundo no Rio! I doubt that Shakira @shakira @Shakira_Brasil would do that! By the way, @FrelloJorginho your little one is already the guest of honor of the organization in May!”
Charlotte Clymer, a transgender activist, wrote on X: “Look…Chappell Roan may be exhausted with fame, and she’s entitled to her privacy. Both are valid. But if you’re sitting in a public restaurant and an 11-year-old child who idolizes you simply passes by and shyly and politely waves, you put down your f***ing fork for a second and wave back at minimum. That’s the bare minimum. You don’t claim you were harassed. You don’t send a security guard over to hassle the kid’s family. You wanted a career in music. You wanted fans. Having a right to privacy does not mean the entire world, full of kids who admire and look up to you, is going to somehow pretend you don’t exist when you’re out in public. That’s absurd. You offer kindness for kids because they’re kids.”
