Chappell Roan says she’s voting for Kamala Harris while insisting there are “problems on both sides”

In the wake of criticism of her recent comments about the U.S. presidential election and her refusal to endorse a candidate, out pop star Chappell Roan says she will vote for Kamala Harris in November.

On Wednesday, September 25, the 26-year-old “Good Luck, Babe!” singer posted a video on TikTok in which she confirmed that she’s “voting for f***ing Kamala,” notably mispronouncing the vice president’s first name in a manner similar to former president Donald Trump and right-wing talking heads.

Related:

George Takei slams Chappell Roan for saying “both sides” of the election are the same

Chappell Roan is getting criticized for saying that “both sides” of the election “have problems.”

The post comes after several days of backlash to comments Roan made in a September 20 profile in The Guardian. The singer told the U.K. outlet that she has “many issues” with the U.S. government and that she doesn’t feel pressure to endorse a candidate.

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“There’s problems on both sides,” she said. “I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote – vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.” She also cited transgender rights as a key issue for her, insisting that “They cannot have cis people making decisions for trans people, period.”

Many on social media, including out actor George Takei, accused Roan of “both sidesing,” i.e., falsely equating Republicans’ clearly anti-LGBTQ+ policies with what she and others may see as Democratic policies that fall short of their ideals.

Roan had previously posted a TikTok video on Monday, September 23, responding to the criticism, arguing that her quotes had been taken out of context “per usual.” She reiterated her call for people to “use critical thinking” and “question authority and question world leaders.”

“If you come to my shows, if you read my full interviews, if you literally know anything about me and for what I stand for, you know that this is not lip service, this is not virtue signaling, that my actions have always paved the way for my project and the people who really know me.”

“Actions speak louder than words,” she continued, “and actions speak louder than an endorsement.”

Roan did not dispute the Guardian quote as printed but claimed that “a lot of people are just not reading” it.

“So, hear it from my mouth if you’re still wondering: No, I’m not voting for Trump, and yes, I will always question those in power and those making decisions over other people, and I will stand up for what’s right and what I believe in.”

In her September 24 post, a groggy and clearly frustrated Roan argued that “people” were continuing to “skew” her comments “even more.”

“Endorsing and voting are completely different,” she argued. “I don’t agree with a lot of what is going on with, like, policies. Like, obviously, f*** the policies of the right, but also f*** some of the policies on the left!” She did not name the policies on the left she was referring to.

“That’s why I can’t endorse,” she continued, adding that she’s unwilling to put her name and her “entire project” behind a single political party. “There is no way I can stand behind some of the left’s completely transphobic and completely genocidal views.”

“F**k Trump for f**king real,” Roan added. “But f**k some of the s**t that has gone down in the Democratic Party that has failed people like me and you, and more so Palestine. And more so every marginalized community in the world.”

@chappellroan

Im done talking about it. If you dont get what im saying from this, its a lost cause. And im not forcing you to agree with me. This is my statement. Have a good day

♬ original sound – chappell roan

As them notes, Roan has repeatedly spoken out against the Biden administration’s role in Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. During her breakthrough performance at New York City’s Governor’s Ball in June, she called for “freedom for all oppressed people in occupied territories,” and has raised funds for Palestinian aid via the merch table at her shows. Earlier this month, Roan told Rolling Stone that she’d considered accepting an invitation to perform at the White House’s Pride celebration this year so that she could protest the war by reading poems written by Palestinian women. Roan ultimately declined to appear at the White House.  

She has not, however, specified a single policy or piece of anti-trans legislation backed by Democrats. In this month’s Rollin Stone profile, Roan did express relief that she didn’t appear at the White House, “because they just made a huge statement about trans kids a couple weeks ago.”

Roan may have been referring to comments made by Biden administration spokespersons to The New York Times and Fox News in June, stating that the administration opposes gender-affirming surgeries for minors, which are exceptionally rare. In July, a White House spokesperson clarified the administration’s position in a statement to The 19th, saying that the administration “continue[s] to support gender-affirming care for minors, which represents a continuum of care, and respect[s] the role of parents, families, and doctors in these decisions.” 

In the same statement, the White House spokesperson reiterated the administration’s opposition to Republican-backed laws banning gender-affirming care for young people, quoting a statement President Joe Biden made in June 2023: “As President Biden has repeatedly said, ‘It’s wrong that extreme officials are pushing hateful bills targeting transgender children, terrifying families, and criminalizing doctors. These are our kids. These are our neighbors. It’s cruel and it’s callous.’”

While the Democratic National Committee (DNC) faced criticism for not featuring any transgender speakers at August’s Democratic National Convention and for seemingly shying away from trans issues to appeal to swing voters, a DNC spokesperson noted in a statement to LGBTQ Nation that this year’s convention boasted over 50 trans and nonbinary delegates. And as LGBTQ Nation’s Mira Lazine noted, the 2024 Democratic platform states the party’s commitment to transgender rights and its intention to oppose restrictions on transgender healthcare.

Trump’s “Agenda 47,” meanwhile, touts the Republican nominee’s intention to “ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female — and they are assigned at birth.” It also says Trump would sign a federal law banning what it describes as “child sexual mutilation” — the right’s characterization of gender-affirming surgeries, which, again, are almost never performed on minors.

Also included in “Agenda 47” is Trump’s “Plan to Save American Education and Give Power Back to Parents,” which promises to “cut federal funding for any school or program pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children,” adopt a “Parental Bill of Rights that includes complete curriculum transparency,” and to “keep men out of women’s sports.”

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