{"id":564424,"date":"2026-03-27T13:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/564424\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T13:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:37:08","slug":"lionel-richie-warns-stars-to-respect-fans-after-chappell-roan-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/564424\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Richie warns stars to respect fans after Chappell Roan backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lionel Richie dished out blunt advice for the next generation of stars as Chappell Roan faces backlash over her own fan drama<\/a> \u2014 and his message couldn\u2019t be clearer: if you don\u2019t like people, fame isn\u2019t for you.<\/p>\n

The 76-year-old \u201cHello\u201d hitmaker broke down the biggest mistake artists make when chasing the spotlight during a chat with his son-in-law, Joel Madden, on the VEEPS Artist Friendly podcast<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s one thing you didn\u2019t calculate,\u201d Richie said. \u201cI hope you like people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lionel Richie said that stars can\u2019t have fame without the people who support them. Veeps\/YouTube<\/p>\n

Chappell Roan has faced backlash after a string of fan-related controversies. Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause if you don\u2019t like people, here\u2019s how it\u2019s going to sound. You spend the first half of your career going, \u2018Look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me.\u2019 And then you finally get famous. \u2018Don\u2019t look at me. Don\u2019t look at me. Don\u2019t look at me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Roan, 28, has been under fire after a string of fan-related controversies, including resurfaced comments in which she called some supporters \u201cweird\u201d and \u201ccreepy,\u201d<\/a> along with a reported incident in Brazil where a young fan was allegedly confronted by a bodyguard<\/a> after spotting the singer at a hotel.<\/p>\n

For Richie, that switch-up is where stars go wrong. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes you five seconds to say, \u2018Hey, thanks\u2019 or \u2018How you doing?\u2019\u201d Richie said. \u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d Veeps\/YouTube<\/p>\n

\u201cThe universe gave you what you asked for,\u201d he said. \u201cYou want to be famous and rich without the people? It doesn\u2019t work like that. You have to be able to engage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madden, who\u2019s married to Richie\u2019s daughter Nicole Richie<\/a>, says he\u2019s watched that philosophy play out in real life for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you acknowledge people,\u201d Madden said, recalling how Richie greets fans even in everyday situations, such as when the \u201cDancing on the Ceiling\u201d singer is walking through a restaurant.<\/p>\n

Roan is under fire after a reported hotel incident involving a young fan in Brazil. chappellroan, \/instagram<\/p>\n

Instead of avoiding eye contact, Richie leans in. \u201cHi, how are you?\u201d he\u2019ll say \u2014 even if the fan hasn\u2019t worked up the nerve to speak first.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something even his own kids have questioned. Why go out of your way?<\/p>\n

For Richie, the answer is simple. \u201cI was invisible once,\u201d he said. \u201cThey want to say something to you. And you can see it on their face. They want to say something. And for me to ignore them, would be the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ada, 11, was left shaken after spotting Roan at the hotel. Instagram\/catcavelli\/<\/p>\n

Good Charlotte singer Madden admitted he had to learn that mindset over time, recalling how he used to get irritated by people staring \u2014 until he realized they were just shy.<\/p>\n

Now, he says Richie\u2019s reputation follows him everywhere. \u201cYour father-in-law was here \u2014 he\u2019s the best,\u201d people constantly tell him in airports, hotels, and venues.<\/p>\n

But Richie warned that kind of word-of-mouth cuts both ways.<\/p>\n

Richie at the 57th NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Pasadena, Calif. Chris Pizzello\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout social media, without anything we have of new technology. You know what travels fast? That guy was a freaking d\u2013k,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018I always relate it to planting seeds. When you plant f\u2013k you seeds, you get f\u2013k you flowers. Nothing grows. So, if you plant a career of f\u2013k you flowers, it\u2019s coming back to haunt you.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

The timing of Richie\u2019s comments comes as Roan finds herself under intense scrutiny over her own interactions with fans.<\/p>\n

Roan has said she was unaware of the incident involving Ada. BACKGRID<\/p>\n

The \u201cPink Pony Club\u201d singer has defended herself in the past, arguing that fame shouldn\u2019t open the door to invasive behavior like being followed, shouted at, or approached unexpectedly in public.<\/p>\n

More recently, soccer star Jorginho claimed his 11-year-old stepdaughter Ada was left shaken after an alleged encounter with a bodyguard when she spotted Roan at a hotel in Brazil.<\/p>\n

His wife Catherine Harding, who shares the child with Jude Law, said the guard berated them after the girl simply walked past the singer\u2019s table.<\/p>\n

Roan\u2019s bodyguard Pascal Duvier denied berating the young girl. BACKGRID<\/p>\n

Roan has said she was unaware of the incident<\/a>, and her team insists she has \u201czero tolerance\u201d for that kind of behavior. The bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, has also denied wrongdoing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a resurfaced video, Roan vented her frustration with fan behavior, admitting she struggles with the realities of fame \u2014 including strangers approaching her for photos or yelling at her from passing cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you saw a random woman on the street, would you yell at her from the car window? Would you harass her in public?\u201d she said in the video.<\/p>\n

\u2018Would you go up to a random lady and say, \u2018Can I get a photo with you?\u2019 Would you be offended if she\u00a0says no to your time because she has her own time? Would you stalk her family? Would you follow her around?\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the situation has fueled debate about how stars handle fame \u2014 and whether attitude can make or break a career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes you five seconds to say, \u2018Hey, thanks\u2019 or \u2018How you doing?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lionel Richie dished out blunt advice for the next generation of stars as Chappell Roan faces backlash over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":564425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[49,48,361,19632,75,4445,217729,22522,341],"class_list":{"0":"post-564424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-chappell-roan","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-fans","14":"tag-joel-madden","15":"tag-lionel-richie","16":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}