Chappell Roan shuts down ‘stupid’ industry plant claims
No, “Good Luck, Babe!” singer Chappell Roan is not an industry plant. (Getty)
Lesbian pop star Chappell Roan has rubbished accusations that she is a so-called ‘industry plant’.
Despite releasing glistening queer coming-of-age bop “Pink Pony Club” in 2020, Roan has been dogged by the rumours following her meteoric rise to stardom this year.
Following the release of smash hit “Good Luck, Babe!” in April, her performance at Coachella shortly after, and becoming Olivia Rodrigo’s support act on the Guts world tour, Roan’s streaming numbers have increased exponentially. At the beginning of the year, she was racking up approximately three million Spotify plays a week. By the end of last month, that number was almost 70 million.
She’s also found fans in mega stars Lady Gaga, Elton John and Rihanna.
But her seemingly overnight success has brought criticism from corners of the internet, with some people just assuming that she must be an artist backed by nepotism, wealth or other influence in the industry, rather than benefiting from her own hard work.
The accusation gained more traction when some Spotify users noted “Good Luck, Babe!” automatically playing after their playlists ended.
Now, Roan, who released her debut single “Good Hurts” in 2017, has hit back at the “stupid” claims.
“What’s so sick is that people are so stupid online and they’re like, ‘Industry plant! Industry plant!’ This is my tenth year [of making music]. Year 10, professionally, was signed in high school,” she told Drew Afualo on The Comment Section podcast.
“Tenth year after just years and years of just pushing and pushing and pushing. I’m from southern Missouri and moved to LA. It’s just the most clichéd story ever.
“But yeah, 2020 I ran out of money, moved back in with my parents, worked at a drive through, got dropped by my label, broke up with someone I thought I was going to marry… and I was like: ‘I’m gonna do the pop thing’.”
If any further proof was needed that the “Red Wine Supernova” singer has been working at her craft for the longest time, fellow pop star Troye Sivan has it: he tweeted about listening to her as along ago as 2014.
Elsewhere on the podcast, drag super fan Roan name-checked her favourite Drag Race queens, including Sasha Colby, Bob The Drag Queen, Kim Chi and Derrick Barry. She also took a moment to praise House of the Dragon‘s non-binary Golden Globe nominee, Emma D’Arcy.
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