‘Fame is like going through puberty’: Chappell Roan on sexuality, superstardom and the joy of drag

She’s gone from obscurity to the A-list, but not without struggle. On the road in the UK, the singer talks teenage angst, her queer inspirations ... and why she hasn’t endorsed Kamala Harris

Chappell Roan once started a bar fight. A man was talking down to a server and she called him out. He squared up to her, one thing led to another and her friends ended up brawling with him. “If you’re an asshole, I’m gonna be like: ‘Yo, fuck off.’ You don’t get to talk to her like that,” she says: “I’m confrontational.”

“Confrontational” and mega-famous pop star make for an uneasy combo (for her publicist, at least). But in recent months, as Missouri-born Roan has shot from jobbing musician to A-lister thanks to the rise of her single Good Luck, Babe! and her drag-inspired aesthetic, the 26-year-old has spoken out about everything from famous-person problems – abusive fans and photographers – to Palestine and LGBTQ+ rights. Coupled with her dazzlingly fun and flamboyant songs and the fervent fan community she has created, you have the year’s biggest – and most uncompromising – new pop star.