{"id":368641,"date":"2026-03-27T20:28:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T20:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/368641\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T20:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T20:28:11","slug":"chappell-roan-bodyguard-controversy-fueled-by-bots-online-research-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/368641\/","title":{"rendered":"Chappell Roan bodyguard controversy fueled by bots online, research finds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iCTyfe\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iCTyfe\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iCTyfe\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p>Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n<p>The excessive blowback that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/life-style\/health-and-families\/features\/chappell-roan-jude-law-catherine-harding-harrassment-security-b2943830.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chappell Roan<\/a> has received over an alleged incident with a security guard and an 11-year-old fan was a coordinated online attack driven by bots, new data has found. <\/p>\n<p>Roan, 28, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/music\/news\/chappell-roan-celebrity-fame-fans-b2943898.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">has recently faced considerable backlash<\/a> over accusations made by Brazilian soccer star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/jorginho\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jorginho<\/a> that a bodyguard berated his wife, singer Catherine Harding, and stepdaughter \u2014 whom Harding shares with Jude Law \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/music\/news\/chappell-roan-jude-law-jorginho-b2943324.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">following an encounter<\/a> with Roan.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cPink Pony Club\u201d singer has since spoken out, denying that the security guard was part of her personal detail and insisting that she was not aware of the incident. <\/p>\n<p>Still, Roan\u2019s character has been thrown into question as she faces intense scrutiny for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/music\/news\/boy-george-chappell-roan-paparazzi-paris-video-b2936378.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">how she handles fame<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, it appears that much of the online criticism was generated by bots, according to a report shared with The Independent by<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/music\/news\/taylor-swift-life-of-a-showgirl-nazi-racism-maga-b2882333.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> AI-driven behavioral intelligence platform Gudea.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/edvfbdgnrgfd.jpeg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Jorginho (right) accused a security guard of berating his wife, singer Catherine Harding (left), and 11-year-old stepdaughter, following an encounter with Chappell Roan\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Jorginho (right) accused a security guard of berating his wife, singer Catherine Harding (left), and 11-year-old stepdaughter, following an encounter with Chappell Roan (Catcavelli\/Instagram)<\/p>\n<p>Combing through 100,030 posts generated by 54,334 unique users across seven platforms between March 20 and March 22, the company found that 4.21 percent of the activity originated from \u201cnon-typical\u201d users who behave as \u201coutlier, influencer, facilitator or hybrid types.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gudea defines outliers as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/tech\/ai-bots-web-traffic-cloudflare-chatgpt-b2942427.html\">accounts that engage in unusual posting patterns<\/a>, influencers as users with large followings whose content often sets trends or sparks conversations, and facilitators as accounts that post so regularly it seems \u201calmost automated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese non-typical users accounted for 23 percent of over 100,000 posts, which is high,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n<p>It added: \u201cThe incident prompted intense personal attacks on Chappell Roan, calls for boycotts, and significant misinformation (including satirical\/fictional embellishment spreading as fact).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiscourse ranged from legitimate fan criticism and debate about celebrity privacy vs. fan treatment, to coordinated attack campaigns and considerable satirical\/humorous content that blurred the line with misinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Chappell-Roan.jpeg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Roan was the target of an online bot-driven attack, data found\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Roan was the target of an online bot-driven attack, data found (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n<p>Over the weekend, Jorginho, 34, shared a lengthy Instagram Story about a \u201cvery upsetting situation\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/music\/news\/chappell-roan-controversy-security-guard-b2943576.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">his wife, Harding<\/a>, and his stepdaughter allegedly experienced at Lollapalooza Brasil, where Roan was headlining.<\/p>\n<p>The former Chelsea and Arsenal player explained that his family was coincidentally staying at the same hotel as Roan. He said that one morning at breakfast, his daughter spotted Roan at a table nearby and \u201cgot excited and wanted to make sure it was really her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the worst part is she didn\u2019t even approach her. She simply walked past the singer\u2019s table, looked to confirm it was her, smiled, and went back to sit with her mom. She didn\u2019t say anything, didn\u2019t ask for anything,\u201d Jorginho said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened next was completely disproportionate,\u201d he added, claiming that \u201ca large security guard\u201d approached his wife and daughter and began \u201cspeaking in an extremely aggressive manner,\u201d leaving his daughter \u201cin tears.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ScreenShot-Tool-20260322092300.png\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Roan has spoken out, denying that the security guard was a part of her personal detail\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Roan has spoken out, denying that the security guard was a part of her personal detail (Instagram)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was extremely shaken and cried a lot,\u201d he said, going on to take aim at Roan, insisting that \u201cwithout your fans you would be nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, celebrity bodyguard Pascal Duvier spoke out, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/music\/news\/chappell-roan-security-guard-jude-law-b2945915.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">taking \u201cfull responsibility\u201d for the incident<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do not normally address online rumors, but the accusations currently circulating are false and constitute defamation. I take full responsibility for the interactions on March 21st,\u201d he wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was at the hotel on behalf of another individual, and I was not part of the personal security team of Chappell Roan. The actions I took were not on behalf of Chappell Roan, her personal security team, her management, or any other individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Duvier continued: \u201cI made a judgment call based on information we obtained from the hotel, events I had witnessed in the days prior and the heightened overall security risk of our location. My sole interaction with the mother was calm and with good intentions, and the outcome of the encounter is regretful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[321,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-368641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}