The excessive blowback that Chappell Roan has received over an alleged incident with a security guard and an 11-year-old fan was a coordinated online attack driven by bots, new data has found.
Roan, 28, has recently faced considerable backlash over accusations made by Brazilian soccer star Jorginho that a bodyguard berated his wife, singer Catherine Harding, and stepdaughter — whom Harding shares with Jude Law — following an encounter with Roan.
The “Pink Pony Club” singer has since spoken out, denying that the security guard was part of her personal detail and insisting that she was not aware of the incident.
Still, Roan’s character has been thrown into question as she faces intense scrutiny for how she handles fame.
However, it appears that much of the online criticism was generated by bots, according to a report shared with The Independent by AI-driven behavioral intelligence platform Gudea.
Combing through 100,030 posts generated by 54,334 unique users across seven platforms between March 20 and March 22, the company found that 4.21 percent of the activity originated from “non-typical” users who behave as “outlier, influencer, facilitator or hybrid types.”
Gudea defines outliers as accounts that engage in unusual posting patterns, influencers as users with large followings whose content often sets trends or sparks conversations, and facilitators as accounts that post so regularly it seems “almost automated.”
“These non-typical users accounted for 23 percent of over 100,000 posts, which is high,” the report stated.
It added: “The incident prompted intense personal attacks on Chappell Roan, calls for boycotts, and significant misinformation (including satirical/fictional embellishment spreading as fact).
“Discourse ranged from legitimate fan criticism and debate about celebrity privacy vs. fan treatment, to coordinated attack campaigns and considerable satirical/humorous content that blurred the line with misinformation.”
Over the weekend, Jorginho, 34, shared a lengthy Instagram Story about a “very upsetting situation” his wife, Harding, and his stepdaughter allegedly experienced at Lollapalooza Brasil, where Roan was headlining.
The former Chelsea and Arsenal player explained that his family was coincidentally staying at the same hotel as Roan. He said that one morning at breakfast, his daughter spotted Roan at a table nearby and “got excited and wanted to make sure it was really her.”
“And the worst part is she didn’t even approach her. She simply walked past the singer’s table, looked to confirm it was her, smiled, and went back to sit with her mom. She didn’t say anything, didn’t ask for anything,” Jorginho said.
“What happened next was completely disproportionate,” he added, claiming that “a large security guard” approached his wife and daughter and began “speaking in an extremely aggressive manner,” leaving his daughter “in tears.”
“She was extremely shaken and cried a lot,” he said, going on to take aim at Roan, insisting that “without your fans you would be nothing.”
On Thursday, celebrity bodyguard Pascal Duvier spoke out, taking “full responsibility” for the incident.
“I do not normally address online rumors, but the accusations currently circulating are false and constitute defamation. I take full responsibility for the interactions on March 21st,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I was at the hotel on behalf of another individual, and I was not part of the personal security team of Chappell Roan. The actions I took were not on behalf of Chappell Roan, her personal security team, her management, or any other individuals.”
Duvier continued: “I made a judgment call based on information we obtained from the hotel, events I had witnessed in the days prior and the heightened overall security risk of our location. My sole interaction with the mother was calm and with good intentions, and the outcome of the encounter is regretful.”
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