Miley Cyrus Defends Chappell Roan Amid Transition to Fame, Call for Boundaries: “I Wish People Would Not Give Her a Hard Time”

Miley Cyrus is lending support to fellow music artist Chappell Roan.

In her Harper’s Bazaar cover story published Wednesday, Cyrus shared that she reached out to Roan after the new music sensation asked fans online to treat her with respect.

“I wish people would not give her a hard time,” Cyrus said. “It’s probably really hard coming into this business with phones and Instagram. That wasn’t always a part of my life, and I’m not a part of it now. I don’t even have my Instagram password.”

Roan has praised Cyrus as being an artist she admires and has been a fan of. During the Disney Legends ceremony, Roan was featured in an introduction video for Cyrus. The “Hot to Go” singer has also shared that Cyrus’ Best of Both Worlds Tour in 2007 was her first concert.

“The things that I admire about Miley Cyrus is that she constantly reinvents herself and always works,” Roan said. “For a lot of artists, it can seem inauthentic or out of the blue, but she’s very open about her transformations artistically and personally. She’s so true to herself and puts out music that is so authentic.”

Despite rising to music fame, Roan has been vocal about wanting to set boundaries when it comes to her public persona and private life. She took to Instagram in August asking for people to “stop touching me,” “stop being weird to my family and friends” and “stop assuming things about me.”

“For the past 10 years I’ve been going non-stop to build my project and it’s come to the point that I need to draw lines and set boundaries. I want to be an artist for a very very long time,” Roan wrote. “I’ve been in too many nonconsensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don’t owe you shit. I chose this career path because because I love music and art and honoring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it.”

She continued, “When I’m on stage, when I’m performing, when I’m in drag, when I’m at a work event, when I’m doing press…I am at work. Any other circumstances, I am not in work mode. I am clocked out. I don’t agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out—just because they’re expressing admiration. Women do not owe you a reason why they don’t want to be touched or talked to.”

She also noted that she was specifically referring to “predatory behavior (disguised as ‘superfan’ behavior) that has become normalized because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past.”

In September, Roan canceled her planned performances in Washington, D.C., and New York as part of the All Things Go festival due to things becoming “overwhelming.”

“I feel pressures to prioritize a lot of things right now and I need a few days to prioritize my health. I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible. Thank you for understanding. Be back soon xox,” she said at the time.

At the time, the announcement had followed Roan receiving backlash online when she said she “doesn’t feel pressured to endorse” Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election because “there’s problems on both sides.” She later clarified her comments about endorsing and noted that while she was voting for Harris, the Democratic party “has failed people like me and you.”

Roan has since said she was working to find a balance between her health and career.