Is Chappell Roan endorsing Kamala? Is Mastercard a queer ally? Will Adidas take me to prom?

so Chappell Roan won't endorse a presidential candidate: should we care?

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of today’s newsy (do people outside of New Zealand say that?) I need to pass on that yesterday I made a little validation folder for Bel and me so that we don’t forget how joyous and cute you are all making us feel rn (something I recommend doing to anyone who needs an injection of joy into their life) and I wanted to share some sweet things that are getting me through the week:

None of this is to brag, but it IS to say, we see and hear and FEEL every single thing you send us or tag us in and we genuinely couldn’t be more grateful!!!!

Love you, now for the main event.

So Chappell Roan won't endorse a presidential candidate: should we care?

Honestly, the internet never fails to astound me with how black and white (and stupid) it can be. The latest? An out-of-context Chappell Roan quote, posted by a Pop Crave-esque Twitter account (aptly named ‘Pop Flop’) which has made even more people turn on her.

Like the woman with an actual head on her shoulders that I am, I want to give you the full quote from The Guardian piece (which also discussed Chappell Roan’s recent diagnosis of severe depression - go figure) so you can have context about what she actually said:

“…And even though Kamala Harris used her deliriously goofy Femininomenon in a campaign video (“What we really need is a femininomenon!”) and seemingly copied the design of an official Roan baseball cap, Roan hasn’t endorsed her. And, in June, while dressed as Lady Liberty, Roan told the crowd at Governor’s Ball festival in New York that she had declined an invitation to perform at a White House Pride event: “We want liberty, justice and freedom for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.”

“I have so many issues with our government in every way,” she says. “There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone. There’s problems on both sides. I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote – vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.” The change she wants to see in the US in this election year, she says instantly, is “trans rights. They cannot have cis people making decisions for trans people, period.”

[First of all, before we waste too much time on this: I agree that ‘problems on both sides’ is a terrible choice of words/ take!!!! But I’m sure we all agree with that, and she probably does too. But she’s 26 and has just been shot to fame at unimaginable speed so let’s just imagine that were us for a second hmmm? Would we, and our totally perfect, media-trained selves, not make a single blunder?]

Now I want to show you how ‘Pop Flop’ framed it:

As you can see, Pop Flop HQ has stripped the quote of nuance (perhaps and probably intentionally), in the hopes of starting something. And start something they did. Look at this reaction:

These tweets, and THOUSANDS of others like it, have been racking up likes of up to 100k, and it feels like no one has considered going and finding the original interview where it was quoted from.

If they had done just a tiny bit of research, they would perhaps rethink their allegations that she’s ‘anti-LGBTQ’ or ‘profiting off queer culture,’ because even just ONE look at The Guardian piece would have told them this:

And she is using her newfound status for good. Since Roan became a headline act, she’s invited local drag artists to support her (an idea suggested to her by queer masked country singer Orville Peck) and each show has its own theme. At her Manchester show, the theme is mermaid, and the atmosphere is celebratory and communal. One fan, Jasmine, resplendent in shiny purple suit and stick-on face charms, hails Roan’s “sense of freedom – I would never dress like this on an ordinary day”. Another, Emelia, in an astonishing homemade jellyfish get-up, says: “I’m gay and live in Newcastle, and a lot of people judge me for being quite flamboyant.”

For every UK tour ticket sold, £1 goes to the LGBTQ+ rights charity Kaleidoscope Trust, and at the merch stand in Manchester there are signed risograph prints selling for £100, with proceeds going towards aid for Palestine.

Let’s talk a little bit about this type of reaction. This type of thing - reacting to something out of context and turning on someone instantly (never mind if they’re actually doing something good with their platforms) - is something we have come to ‘expect’ from the right. It’s quick, reactionary, and doesn’t do anything for the bigger picture. But this is not just a ‘right wing’ thing. The left is just as good as eating itself, and by wasting our energy on ‘controversies’ like this, we can sometimes act just as bad as the conservatives we love to dunk on - not to mention it’s also a huge waste of our time - we’re picking on the wrong people, folks.

Sometimes it feels like we, as a society (ugh) are asking questions (often to celebrities) that we don’t actually want to know the answer to. And honestly? This incessant need for every person with a platform to be chiming in on how we should be using our own brains ALL THE TIME is really giving:

I may regret asking this, but I would absolutely love to know your thoughts on this below xxx

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Over on Close Friends:

• I wore double demin

• I then got my denim jeans stuck in the chain of my bike

And in the Book Club chat: We’ve moved on to sending VOICE NOTES in the Discord which is so cute!!!

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