Chappell Roan on Why She Turned Down White House Invite: ‘I Won’t Be a Monkey for Pride’
Chappell Roan told Rolling Stone in her new cover story that she turned down an invite to perform at the White House’s Pride Celebration this year because of her opposition to various stances taken by Joe Biden’s administration. “I’m not going to go to the White House because I am not going to be a monkey for Pride,” Roan said.
Roan first revealed the declined invite during her set at Governors Ball in June. Dressed as the Statue of Liberty, she dedicated “My Kink Is Karma” to Joe Biden’s administration and said, “We want liberty, justice, and freedom for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.” Then, referring to the famous lines on the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal — “Give me your tired, your poor; your huddled masses yearning to breath free” — she spoke out in support of trans rights, women’s rights, and freedom “for all oppressed people in occupied territories.”
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Roan told Rolling Stone that when she first got the invite, she considered going — but not to perform. Instead, she wanted to read poetry in protest of the U.S. government’s support of Israel’s war in Gaza. “I had picked out some poems from Palestinian women,” Roan said. “I was trying to do it as tastefully as I could because all I wanted to do was yell. I had to find something that’s tasteful and to the point and meaningful, and not make it about me and how I feel.”
While Roan said she felt this was her one chance to stage such a protest directly in front of the president, she ultimately decided against it after discussing the plan with her publicist. While supportive, her publicist also argued: “You fuck with the president and the government, your security is not the same, and neither is your family’s.”
After revealing that she’d declined the invite, Roan said she was bewildered to see some fans misconstruing the decision as some kind of support for Donald Trump and Republicans. “It is not so black and white that you hate one and you like the other,” she said. “No matter how you say it, people are still going to be pissed for fucking some reason. I’m not going to go to the White House because I am not going to be a monkey for Pride. And thank God I didn’t go because they just made a huge statement about trans kids a couple weeks ago.”
(Roan was referring to an anonymous White House spokesperson who said in June that gender-affirming surgery should be limited to transgender adults; the White House walked back the statement a month later.)
Roan went on to succinctly sum up her political outlook, stating bluntly: “I’m pretty, ‘Fuck the government, and fuck everything that’s going on right now.’ I don’t have a side because I hate both sides, and I’m so embarrassed about everything going on right now.”
While this part of Roan’s interview was conducted before Joe Biden decided not to seek re-election, the pop star kept her outlook cautious — but allowed some optimism — during an August follow-up as Kamala Harris secured the nomination.
“Right now, it’s more important than ever to use your vote, and I will do whatever it takes to protect people’s civil rights, especially the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. “My ethics and values will always align with that, and that hasn’t changed with a different nominee. I feel lucky to be alive during an incredibly historical time period when a woman of color is a presidential nominee.”
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