Security Guard Addresses São Paulo Incident Involving Chappell Roan
A security guard connected to the recent controversy involving Chappell Roan is now speaking publicly, offering his own account after multiple versions of events surfaced.
The controversy began earlier that day when Jorginho Frello, the Brazilian soccer player, shared his version of events on Instagram. His post was later amplified on X by Rio de Janeiro Deputy Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere.
According to Frello, his wife, Irish singer Catherine Harding, and her 11-year-old daughter Ava were staying at the same São Paulo hotel as Roan. Frello said Ava believed she had spotted the Grammy-winning artist during breakfast and walked closer to check.
“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,” the athlete wrote.
Frello alleged that a security guard then approached them and reacted in a way that 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 said the encounter left Ava in tears.
Pascal Duvier addressed the situation in an Instagram post on March 25, pushing back against what he described as false claims circulating online. “I do not normally address online rumors, but the accusations currently circulating are false and constitute defamation,” he wrote.
Duvier acknowledged his involvement in the March 21 incident but emphasized that he was not working for Roan at the time.
“I take full responsibility for the interactions on March 21. I was at the hotel on behalf of another individual, and I was not part of the personal security team of Chappell Roan,” he said.
He added that his actions were independent of the singer and her team.
“The actions I took were not on behalf of Chappell Roan, her personal security team, her management, or any other individuals. I 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.”
Roan has quickly distanced herself from the situation, stating that the individual involved was not part of her team and that she was unaware of the interaction as it unfolded.
“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 my personal security,” she said in an Instagram story. “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.”
“I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child,” she added. “They did not come up to me. They weren’t doing anything.”
Harding later shared her own perspective in a video posted March 22, expressing uncertainty about who the guard was working for.
“I know that Chappell has responded saying that it wasn’t her security, and she didn’t do it,” she said. “So, 100% this security guard was not a security guard of the hotel, that’s what I can say. He looks after artists. So I don’t know if it was her personal security guard, but he was with her, so that is all I know.”
“I think that you have a responsibility, when you are a celebrity, to make sure that the people that work for you are acting on your behalf,” she continued. “So, would he do that if he didn’t have her authority to do so? I don’t know.”
While addressing the situation, Roan also reiterated her broader stance on fan interactions, citing comments she had made in 2024.
“I don’t agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I don’t know, do not trust, or who creep me out — just because they’re expressing admiration.”
She clarified that her position is about maintaining boundaries, not rejecting her supporters.
“This has nothing to do with the gratitude and love I feel for my community, for the people who respect my boundaries and for the love I feel from every person who lifts me up and has stuck with me to help the project get to where it is now.”
Roan also addressed what she described as a broader cultural issue.
“I’m specifically talking about predatory behavior (disguised as ‘superfan’ behavior) that has become normalized because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past,” she wrote. “Please do not assume you know a lot about someone’s life, personality, and boundaries because you are familiar with them and their work online.”
Despite denying involvement, Roan apologized to those affected in a follow-up video responding to Frello’s claims.
“I do not hate people who are fans of my music,” she said. “I do not hate children. That is crazy. I’m sorry to the mother and child that someone was assuming something that you would do something, that if you felt uncomfortable, that makes me really sad. You did not deserve that.”
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.