The singer Chappell Roan recently made headlines for apparently releasing a furious rant, condemning her own fans. Was she slinging insults and burning bridges? No, all she did was make a video in which she clearly and concisely asserts her boundaries, asking for privacy and reminding her fans that although they may enjoy and support the fruits of her musical labour, they don't actually know her.

"It's weird how people think that you know a person just because you see them online and you listen to the art they make," she said, admitting that sometimes she gets uncomfortable when people scream in her face on the street, and that when asked to pose for photos and sign autographs, she'd quite like the option to refuse without being branded rude.

Chappell ended her video with the statement, “I’m allowed to say no to creepy behaviour.” Naturally, this has sent the internet into an uproar, with those who disagree branding her ungrateful, unworthy of her fame and not cut out for a life of pop stardom.

There's a perceived ownership of beloved celebrities that is at best protective and at worst incredibly invasive. A “parasocial relationship” refers to the one-sided bond you might feel with a celebrity or public figure through which you feel intimately connected to someone who is, in reality, a perfect stranger.

They're not a new phenomenon, but the internet has provided the perfect breeding ground for unhealthy attachment and perceived proximity. Many celebrities offer direct and frequent insight into their daily lives, vulnerability which unfortunately can lead some people to develop parasocial attachments.

Chappell is perhaps feeling this invasion more acutely than most musical stars who have achieved her level of popularity, as her entrance into the public eye seems, to those unaware of her decade of musical grafting, to have come about overnight.

Going from a relatively unknown, private person to an international superstar in the space of a year might seem like an enviable career path, but she's been very open about just how overwhelming it has been.

On stage recently she admitted that “I just feel a little off today ‘cause I think that my career is going really fast and it’s really hard to keep up. So I’m just being honest that I’m just having a hard time today. So sorry that — I’m not trying to give you, like, a lesser show. It’s just, there’s a lot… Thank you for understanding. This is all I’ve ever wanted. It’s just heavy sometimes.”

This isn't what we're used to seeing from our pop stars; they're meant to shoulder the immense pressure like a beacon of smiling stoic stardom, keeping their struggle private where it won't affect ticket sales. This openness and ability to admit not defeat, but a desire to change the game, represents a vulnerability that isn't often seen in an industry that is so exploitative.

Always being on the clock can be incredibly damaging to the psyche of someone in the public eye; unfortunately all too often it causes celebrities serious harm if they don't voice their concerns, and serious problems if they do. It's a tricky situation to be in, telling a fanbase upon whom your income relies that you've been made to feel uncomfortable by the very adoration that compels them to support you.

Naturally, people experiencing these kinds of parasocial emotions won't take too kindly to being told their idol doesn't appreciate their infatuation, which all too often leads to obsession shifting, from reverence to resentment.

Singer Doja Cat lost 200,000 followers almost overnight after responding to someone asking her to say she loved her fans. “I don't though cuz I don't even know y'all,” she said. “My theory is that if someone has never met me in real life, then, subconsciously, I’m not real to them.”

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The reverence shown by some fans walks the thin and tumultuous line between deification and dehumanisation, which is becoming ever clearer when we examine attacks on celebrities by their own fans.

At the age of 23, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, widely considered the queen of Tejano music, was shot to death by former nurse Yolanda Saldívar, who had been president of Selena’s fan club.

Another incident occurred in 2016 when 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie was signing autographs after her concert in Florida. Kevin James Loibl, whom local police described as having an “unrealistic infatuation with Christina”, approached her armed with a hunting knife and handguns, which he used to fatally shoot her before shooting himself.

Even the stage itself is no longer safe. Recent stories include the person who threw a bag of cremated human remains at Pink onstage, and an alleged fan throwing a phone at singer Bebe Rexha, causing a laceration to her eye.

A disproportionate reaction to celebrities requesting privacy is sadly indicative of a culture that sees celebrity as a commodity, not a career. How dare a complete stranger politely request not to have their life invaded at all times, we gave you your success and we can just as easily take it all away.

That's the price for the benefits that celebrity brings - yes, you can have the million dollar mansion, but only on the condition that we get to look through the windows. It might seem an enviable position in which to reside, but it often feels like something of a gilded cage; an inability to clock out and just exist in a way which can't be consumed by the public seems exhausting.

(Image: Chappell Roan)

There are those who think it's what they signed up for, if they don't like it they can retire or recede from a life of celebrity. But the public eye is not one which shuts all too often. Aside from complete reclusion from society, something which is neither fair nor practical, there are very few people who have managed to successfully land back on earth after a meteoric rise to fame.

Perhaps this is one of many reasons why nepotism is so prevalent in the entertainment world; being the child of a celebrity unfortunately provides prolonged and repeated exposure to life in the public eye, a kind of grotesque training for a life of stardom. Many celebrities have taken to obscuring the identities of their children for just this reason, but despite their best efforts many paparazzi make it their mission to circumvent the boundaries of anyone they deem famous enough to forfeit their right to privacy.

Prioritising good mental health and career stability over maximising profits is something which should be celebrated and encouraged, but unfortunately cultural change takes time.

We consume the product of celebrity every day: books, songs, TV. It can be easy to forget that when the credits roll and the stage lights go out that the artists we idolise are real people, with a very real right to privacy, safety, and respect.