New research has revealed that the online backlash against singer Chappell Roan over an alleged incident involving a security guard and an 11-year-old fan was largely driven by bot accounts. The controversy began when Brazilian footballer Jorginho accused a bodyguard of berating his wife, singer Catherine Harding, and her daughter at a hotel in Brazil.
Roan, 28, denied that the guard was part of her security team and said she was unaware of the incident. However, she faced intense scrutiny online. A report by AI-driven platform Gudea, shared with The Independent, analysed over 100,000 posts from 54,334 users across seven platforms between March 20 and 22. It found that 4.21% of activity came from 'non-typical' users, including outliers, influencers, and facilitators, who generated 23% of all posts.
Gudea described these accounts as engaging in unusual patterns, with some posting so frequently it seemed 'almost automated.' The report noted that the incident prompted personal attacks on Roan, calls for boycotts, and significant misinformation, including satirical content that blurred fact and fiction.
Jorginho had earlier shared on Instagram that his stepdaughter simply walked past Roan's table at breakfast and smiled, but was confronted by a 'large security guard' who spoke 'extremely aggressively,' leaving the child in tears. He criticised Roan, saying 'without your fans you would be nothing.'
On Thursday, celebrity bodyguard Pascal Duvier took 'full responsibility,' stating he was not part of Roan's team and was acting on information from the hotel. He described his interaction with the mother as 'calm' and said the outcome was 'regretful.'
