COLUMBIA, Md. — Pop music sensation Chappell Roan has canceled her Sunday appearance at the "All Things Go" music festival in Maryland, with the singer posting to Instagram that she wanted to prioritize her health.
Roan's songs, which combine retro synth pop with LGBTQ+ and sex-positive lyrics, catapulted the 26-year-old singer to the pinnacle of fame in 2024 -- a 'Feminenomenon.'
However, in the past month, the artist struggled publicly to define her stance on the 2024 U.S. presidential election and faced some backlash online.
Roan was scheduled to perform at the festival in Columbia on Sunday, alongside performers like Hozier and Renee Rap. Roan also canceled her Saturday appearance at the New York City leg of the festival.
"Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks, and I am really feeling it," Roan posted in an Instagram story on Friday. "I feel pressure to prioritize a lot of things right now, and I need a few days to prioritize my health."
Festival organizers with All Things Go responded in support of Roan on Friday, reposting her Instagram story.
"We ask our community to rally around Chappell Roan with love and understanding," All Things Go organizers said Friday.
In the past month, Roan did a series of interviews in which she tried to clarify her stance on presidential candidates ahead of November's election. On Sept. 10, Roan told RollingStone that she turned down an invitation from the Joe Biden administration to appear at a White House Pride event.
"I am not going to be a monkey for Pride," the openly LGBTQ+ singer, who has identified as a drag queen, told the pop culture magazine, adding that she objected to Biden's policies on the Israel-Hamas war.
Then, last Friday, Roan said she would not make an endorsement in the race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Roan told the British newspaper The Guardian, there's "problems on both sides." Roan said fans should instead, "vote for what's going on in your city."
These comments sparked backlash from some on social media. KJ Miller, a TikTok influencer with over 250,000 followers, called the singer "entitled."
Another user, Astoldbyalahni, said that Roan's statements have alienated members of communities Roan has represented, namely LGBTQ+ community.
"To sit here and say that both sides are bad -- which is true -- and to not go into detail about how one side is exponentially worse for the community that you yourself are champion for is a privilege," the TikTok user said. "If more people voted in the 2016 election, Hillary [Clinton] would have been president, and we would have had a more left-leaning supreme court."
On Wednesday, Roan responded to those criticizing her, saying that she would vote for Vice President Harris in November.
"F--k some of the shit 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 " Roan said in a video posted to TikTok Wednesday. "So yeah -- I'm voting for f--ing Kamala, but I'm not settling for what has been offered, because that's questionable."
This has been the year of Chappell Roan. The 26-year-old pop star became widely known for her bittersweet synth anthems like "Good Luck Babe!," and sex-positive ballads, like "Red Wine Supernova," with lyrics that reference "put her canine teeth in the side of my neck," and "You can say that we are nothing, but you know the truth."
Her album "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" inspired countless TikTok trends as it rose to number two on the Billboard Hot 200 albums.
Roan's rise to fame came at about the same time as the U.S. presidential election between Trump and Harris was heating up. At the Democratic National Convention in August, camouflage merchandise from the Harris - Tim Walz campaign bared an uncanny resemblance to the pop singer's brand, with many voters identifying the singer's midwestern image (Roan was born and raised in Missouri) with that of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Even former Democratic Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton got in on the action, using Roan's hit song "Hot to Go!" to promote her new book on TikTok earlier this month.
Roan did not immediately say when she would return to performing.
"I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible," Roan said Friday. "Be back soon xox."
