Chappell Roan Said No To Performing At The White House For Pride
She hit them with the “good luck, babe!”
The Statute of Liberty is a glittering Midwest Princess. On June 9, Chappell Roan — fittingly clad in green paint, chaps, and a crown that’ll never tilt — performed at New York’s Governor’s Ball 2024. While her over-the-top costumes were a treat, it was the singer’s passionate speeches between tracks that left the crowd in awe. During her set, Roan talked about her decision to not perform at the White House.
Toward the end of her show, Roan performed her hit “My Kink Is Karma.” As the instrumental wavered in, she looked straight into the camera and dedicated the track — a nod to how one’s actions will have future consequences — to the White House, revealing she was recently asked to perform at the nation’s capital for a Pride event.
“We want liberty, justice, and freedom for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come,” Roan said, now dressed in a taxi-inspired minidress. She then performed the track from her The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess album, which landed on Elite Daily’s 13 Best Albums of 2023.
That wasn’t the only memorable moment from Roan’s show. (Yes, fans are still reeling over her campy entrance, where she emerged from a giant half-eaten apple while carrying a torch.) Before the White House speech, the singer slowed down her set to further explain the meaning behind her Statute of Liberty drag.
“I am in drag as the biggest queen of all. But in case you had forgotten what’s etched on my pretty little toes, [it’s]: ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,’” Roan told the crowd, getting briefly choked up. “That means freedom and trans rights. That means freedom and women’s rights. And it especially means freedom for all oppressed people in occupied territories.”
Shortly after, Roan performed a new track she’d been teasing for a while: “Subway.” She previously hinted at the melodic hit before her set, briefly changing her profile picture to the logo of the sandwich chain of the same name. Though she’s switched the photo back to her Midwest aesthetic, she’s continuing to feed pop whimsy in all ways imaginable.
