Chappell Roan Snapped At A VMAs Red Carpet Photographer: “You Shut The Fuck Up”

Looks like the Midwest Princess Chappell Roan took instruction to slay the 2024 VMAs black carpet literally, between bringing a sword as an accessory and the tense interaction she shared with a photographer. Like every other girlie pop tuning into the MTV Video Music Awards to see which pop queens and country kings are going to take home a Moonperson (yep, the MTV award figurine is gender-neutral now, you heard it here first), I’m impatiently waiting with bated breath for Chappell’s live performance. But the artist everyone can’t stop talking about has already given the world some new material to obsess over before she even hits the stage. After seeing multiple clips of what happened I still have only about a million questions. Firstly, did someone dare intentionally yell at the Best New Artist nominee after she already made it clear she doesn’t want to be harassed because of fame? Secondly, if they did, how dare you?? Thirdly, has someone poured Chappell’s publicist a huge glass of wine yet? Feels like he or she is definitely going to need it. Here’s everything we know about Chappell Roan telling off at VMAs photographer.

Why did Chappell Roan yell at a photographer on the VMAs red carpet?

The clips currently available aren’t yet painting a full picture of exactly what happened and Chappell has yet to weigh in on the moment to clarify. However, it’s evident that the beef started while Chappell was taking her time to straighten her “300-year-old robe” over a “600-year-old carpet” in front of the paparazzi pool. In one of the videos posted of the awkies carpet moment, you can hear someone yell something in the background. It sounds like this person, who fans are speculating is a VMA red carpet photographer talking directly to Chappell, said “Shut the fuck up.” Chappell, also presumably understanding this photographer to be speaking to her (though she wasn’t talking at the time), immediately snapped back. She yelled “You shut the fuck up. No, not me bitch!” The crowd reacted with boos after Chappell shuts the heckler down, though it’s unclear who exactly they are booing.

The clips led some viewers to sound off in the Twitter replies that they’re not surprised Chappell’s feathers were ruffled under all of this media attention given her recent statement about needing boundaries from her fans. Die-hard Chappell stans completely understood where their favorite artist was coming from, while pop culture lovers who have watched the rise of legends like Lady Gaga were confused about what Chappell thought she was getting herself into.