The mother of an 11-year-old girl said to have been left “in tears” after an incident involving Chappell Roan’s security has now shared her account.
Catherine Harding’s husband, footballer Jorginho (previously of Arsenal and Chelsea), posted on social media on Saturday (March 21), alleging that a security guard connected to Roan confronted both Harding and his 11-year-old stepdaughter Ada in a São Paulo hotel, and that the interaction was aggressive.
He claimed they hadn’t approached the singer for anything, saying they only walked past her table to check it was Roan because Ada is a fan.
Harding later addressed the situation herself on Instagram on Sunday (March 22), explaining how she understood what happened and where responsibility might lie.
She said: “Did she [Roan] send him to do it? Again, I don’t know. Look, I would like to hope not, but at the same time, I think that you have a responsibility when you are a celebrity to make sure, I guess, that the people who work for you and act on your behalf are acting on your behalf.”
She also questioned whether the guard would have behaved that way without feeling empowered to do so.
Harding continued: “So would he do that if he didn’t have that authority to do so? I don’t know. If he does then obviously that’s a big problem because then he’s representing her in a way she doesn’t want to be represented.”
Discussing Ada — whom Harding shares with actor Jude Law — she said her daughter hadn’t tried to interact with Roan and was simply unsure if it was her.
Harding continued: “She literally did not do anything, she just looked at her, she came back and said ‘Mum I don’t know if it’s her.’ Because obviously she looked like her costumes and everything. She looks a little bit different.”
Harding said they carried on eating breakfast, before a security guard allegedly approached and told her she should teach her daughter to respect people’s privacy.
The family had planned to attend Roan’s performance later that night, but decided not to go after the incident.
Despite what she described, Harding said she still rates Roan as a performer and noted the trip had been organised around the concert as a birthday gift.
Harding continued: “I think she’s a very talented artist. I like her a lot. We came all the way to São Paulo to watch the show. It was my daughter’s birthday present, [it’s] a little bit ruined because we didn’t go to the show last night.”
Roan subsequently commented on the situation on Sunday, saying that no one had approached or “bothered” her, and adding that the guard involved was not part of her personal security team.
The singer said: “I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child… they did not come up to me… they weren’t doing anything. It’s unfair for security to assume somebody doesn’t have good intentions when they have no reason to believe because there’s no action even taken.
“I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do not hate children. Like, that is crazy. I’m sorry to the mother and child that someone was assuming something… and that if they felt uncomfortable, that makes me really sad.”