Instagram/@chappellroan
The pop singer Chappell Roan seems to have asked her fans a bit of a cheeky question, however, the comment section went to war over a new brand collaboration right away. ‘Did you as a kid lie to get glasses and now your eyes are ruined or what’s the mood?’ was the star question accompanied by a lovely set of pictures showing her in glasses and looking great. Many of the fans shared their own stories of childhood glasses, but a large part of the discussion was filled with the discontent of the fashion brand’s collaboration with Roan, the cosmetics giant MAC, which has been boycotted because of its links with Israel as well as its animal testing practices.
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What initially seemed like a fun and relatable way to connect with the audience turned out to be a source of disappointment for the fans. The reaction was swift and very sharp, with many people commenting that linked the funny inquiry directly to the singer’s refusal to address the MAC issue. One person quite openly stated, ‘Collabing with Mac is most definitely NOT the vibe.’ Another one was curious to know, ‘What’s going on with the MAC collab girl?’ This was a feeling that was shared widely, with comments like ‘are we not going to talk about the mac sponsorship’ and ‘Is that your excuse for not responding to the Mac animal testing comments? 💔🔎🔎🔎’ coming in thick and fast.
The unfriendly comments reveal a conflict between Roan’s public persona as a socially responsible, outspoken artist and the actualities of the corporate brand deals that the company has been making. The fans who have been supporting her now start feeling betrayed. One of the comments, which was quite long and made with a lot of passion, already set out the realization: ‘The vibe is hoping you’ll honour your commitments to divesting away from Israeli-linked companies… The vibe is we see other white women like Greta Thunberg, Nicola Coughlan, Jane Fonda, who model what solidarity means despite the cost, and have counted you among them too.’ This comment, which got replies like ‘period’ and ‘cook !!!!’, was on the whole very well received and that shows how deep the issue is for a certain part of her fanbase.
Amid the storm of political controversies, there were a few fans trying to shift the conversation back to the previous, more humorous topic. Several people shared their childhood eyesight problems, thus creating a very odd contrast in the comments. ‘unfortunately no i’m just blind,’ one of the users said, while others were telling similar stories of their very real need for glasses. Another one confessed, ‘….yeah i faked my eye test like 2 times and my optometrist clocked me for it 😭,’ and this led to a sub-thread about the very silly, yet very common, childhood desire to have glasses. Even Dropout TV’s official account could not resist the tempting to get involved, asking ‘who else lied as a child to get glasses,’ which resulted in a flood of confession and funny replies from their own followers.
The entire conversation took a surprising cultural twist when one user pointed out an Arabic word which was seen in one of Roan’s photo slides. ‘To2borni means literally “bury me” and it’s a term of endearment in Arabic. So emotional to find this in a slide 😭🫀,’ they said. This moment of appreciation, however, was quickly turned as more ammunition by the critics. Another user inquired, ‘posting about an Arabic word but partnering with MAC… hmm 😒😒🍉,’ and the watermelon emoji is widely recognized as a symbol of Palestine, which the second user managed to hit right on the mark. This association only heightened the anger over the company’s alleged duplicity that was already a big source of the outrage.
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For now, Chappell Roan has not made any public statements about the mounting criticism of her social media posts regarding the MAC collaboration. What was intended as a fun way to engage with fans turned out to be a magnification of a long-standing divide. It uncovers the extreme scrutiny that public figures go through, as every single post is dissected for meaning and alignment with proclaimed values. The incident is a reflection of a larger cultural moment where fans demand that artists provide them with consistent activism and accountability, thus viewing brand partnerships as political statements rather than neutral business decisions. Whether or not Roan will break her silence and tackle the issues head-on is the crucial question that lingers over this digital confrontation. Recently, she also introduced her new hairless cat to the world. Her philanthropic efforts include the Midwest Princess Project to support trans youth, and she recently concluded her European tour with a grateful message to fans.
