Pop singer Chappell Roan has apologised to former Chelsea and Arsenal footballer Jorginho after he criticised the singer-songwriter for the “extremely aggressive manner” of her security team, which he said left his 11-year-old daughter “in tears”.
Jorginho, 34, now plays in his homeland for Flamengo in Brazil, and claimed on Saturday his daughter had walked past Roan in a Sao Paulo hotel to check it was really her before being confronted by the pop star’s security team.
In a post on the social media site Instagram, Jorginho described it as a “very upsetting situation”, and said his daughter was “extremely shaken and cried a lot”. Jorginho’s post about the incident went viral.
On Sunday, Roan posted a video to Instagram criticising the security guard at the centre of the incident and apologising to “the mother and child”.
“The worst part is she (his daughter) didn’t even approach her,” read Jorginho’s original post. “She simply walked past the singer’s table, looked to confirm it was her, smiled, and went back to sit with her mum. She didn’t say anything, didn’t ask for anything. What happened next was completely disproportionate.
“A large security guard came over to their table while they were still having breakfast and began speaking in an extremely aggressive manner to both my wife and my daughter, saying that she shouldn’t allow my daughter to ‘disrespect’ or ‘harass’ other people.
“He even said he would file a complaint against them with the hotel (we were in), while my 11-year-old daughter was sitting there in tears.”
Chappell Roan posted a video about the incident in response (Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images)
Roan said in a video post: “I’m just going to tell my half of the story, of what happened today with a mother and child who were involved with a security guard who is not (a part) my personal security.
“I didn’t even see a woman and a child. No one came up to me. No one bothered me. I was just sitting at breakfast in my hotel, and I think these people were staying at the hotel as well.
“I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child. I did not. They did not come up to me. They weren’t doing anything. It’s unfair for security to just assume that someone doesn’t have good intentions when they have no reason to believe that, because no action was even taken.
“I do not hate people who are fans of my music, and I do not hate children. That is crazy. I’m sorry to the mother and child. Someone was assuming something, and that if you felt uncomfortable. That makes me really sad. You did not deserve that.”
Jorginho, a former Italy international who moved to play in his native Brazil last summer, added that, as a footballer, he lived with “public exposure” and therefore understood the importance of “respect and boundaries”.
Jorginho’s initial post about the incident went viral (Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)
His post continued: “It’s sad to see this kind of treatment coming from those who should understand the importance of fans. At the end of the day, they are the ones who build all of this. I sincerely hope this serves as a moment of reflection. No one should have to go through this, especially not a child. @chappellroan
“Without your fans, you would be nothing. and to the fans, she does not deserve your affection.”
Eduardo Cavaliere, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, also criticised the American singer on social mediaannouncing that he would not let the 28-year-old perform at the Todo Mundo no Rio (a series of international music megashows promoted by the City of Rio de Janeiro).
He said: “As long as I’m in charge of our city, this young lady (Roan) will never perform at Todo Mundo no Rio. I doubt that Shakira would do that! By the way, Jorginho, your little one is already the guest of honour from the organisation in May.” Jorginho responded to the mayor’s message on X with heart emojis.
