Chappell Roan pushed back on Sunday against accusations from soccer star Jorginho, who said a hotel security guard treated his 11-year-old stepdaughter aggressively after she recognized the singer at a Sao Paulo breakfast table.
In a lengthy Instagram post Saturday, Jorginho said Roan was in Brazil for Lollapalooza and that his wife and child were staying at the same Sao Paulo hotel when the incident took place. He said Roan walked past their table, and that his daughter “recognized her,” became excited, and “just wanted to make sure it was really her.”
Jorginho said his daughter “didn’t say anything, didn’t ask for anything.” He then alleged that a security guard approached his family and spoke “in an extremely aggressive manner to both my wife and my daughter,” describing the exchange as having escalated beyond his daughter’s recognition of the artist.
Roan’s response came later Sunday, also via Instagram. The singer said the guard was not part of her personal security and said she did not see “a woman and a child.”
“It’s unfair for security to just assume someone doesn’t have good intentions,” Roan wrote, adding, “I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do no hate children.”
Later on Saturday, Rio de Janeiro’s newly installed mayor Eduardo Cavaliere weighed in on the dispute. He said that when he was mayor, Roan would not perform on Copacabana Beach as Madonna and Lady Gaga have, and that Shakira was scheduled to perform there in May.
Cavaliere also said “I doubt that Shakira would do that!” and added that Jorginho’s daughter would be a guest of honor at Shakira’s upcoming free concert on Rio’s sprawling sands.
Roan, who is openly queer and incorporates drag culture into her performances, has been among the high-profile pop artists spotlighted internationally during the current music festival season. She won a Grammy for best new artist last February, and her 2023 album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” includes tracks such as “Good Luck, Babe!,” “Red Wine Supernova” and “Hot To Go!”
After Jorginho’s lengthy texts, he also posted a story on Instagram describing his daughter’s excited reaction when she arrived at Sabrina Carpenter’s show at Lollapalooza, adding, “Everything is well with the girls, and thanks for the messages.”