Footballer Jorginho has walked back earlier remarks aimed at singer Chappell Roan, around a month after he claimed a security guard linked to the star left his step-daughter in tears.
On Saturday (March 21), the former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder spoke out after his step-daughter Ada — the daughter of actor Jude Law — was reportedly upset following an encounter at a hotel in San Paulo, where she believed she had seen Roan.
Jorginho is married to Law’s former partner, Catherine Harding, who is Ada’s mother.
At the time, he alleged that a member of a security team had behaved “aggressively” toward his family, saying Ada had simply walked past Roan’s table to check whether it was her.
In a long Instagram post, Jorginho criticised the singer and went as far as telling followers she did “not deserve their affection”.
But on Monday, he shared an update suggesting the blame may have been misplaced. According to Jorginho, the guard involved was not working for Roan, but for another artist entirely.
In a fresh Instagram statement, he said the guard had “confirmed publicly that he was representing another artist”, adding that Roan had nothing to do with the incident that had left his daughter distressed.
“Chappell Roan made a public statement, reached out private to Catherine, and our teams also spoke directly,” said Jorginho.
“It became clear that she had no knowledge of what took place at breakfast and had not asked anyone to approach them. She was understanding and sympathetic to what happened to our child.
“While we still do not know what prompted him [the security guard] to approach them, and do not believe an 11-year-old could reasonably be seen as any kind of security threat, it is now clear he was not acting on behalf of Chappell.
“It was, ultimately, a misunderstanding in that respect, and I am glad to set the record straight. It is important to me that this is clarified fairly and accurately. I regret the impact that this situation has had on Chappell Roan, Catherine, Ada and our family.
“I will always stand up for my family. But I also know how to recognise when things were not quite what they seemed at first.”
Following his clarification, Jorginho also called on people to stop directing abuse at Roan. The singer has faced a wave of backlash since the story spread online, and he said he does not “support or encourage hate speech or online attacks from any side’.
The dispute attracted international attention after it entered the news cycle in March. In Rio de Janeiro, mayor Eduardo Cavaliere even pledged to block Roan from performing in the city based on what was initially believed to have happened.