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| Chappell Roan yelling at press photographer - Photo: Shawn Punch Photography/AdMedia |
I witnessed what actually happened when musician Chappell Roan shouted "No, you shut the f*ck up" to a press photographer during the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet arrivals on September 11th at UBS Arena. Many articles have been written about this but very few, if any explains why the incident took place. I was a press photographer, covering the red carpet, standing very close to the scene. Hopefully this will add clarity to the situation.
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| Chappell Roan wears Y/Project - Photo: Shawn Punch Photography/AdMedia |
Ms. Roan arrived on the start of the black carpet wearing a see-thru dress by Y/Project; robe by Palace Costume and Prop Co.; boots by Jeffrey Campbell and holding a sword by The Sword And The Stone. The press photographers were very excited to see her walk in and to snap photos of her. MTV staff and video cameras swarmed around the singer. A man in her crew, wearing an outfit similar to a Knight, rolled out a rug for her by Claremont Rug Company. Chappell Roan then walked on the rug to make her dramatic entrance onto the black carpet. This person and another woman would adjust Ms. Roan's outfit and hold her sword as she made her way down the step and repeat.
[Technical explanation time] The MTV VMA black carpet was set up like several other red carpet events in which the celebrity walks down the carpet and poses at designated spots marked off by a small sticker on the carpet. These designated spots serve a very important role for the celebrities, photographers, media and event organizers. When the celebrities stand on the designated spots, the press photographers each get a chance to capture head-to-toe and close-up images of the talent facing them.
Admittedly, this can be a very stressful situation for a celebrity hearing dozens of photographers screaming their name for attention, and for the photographers hoping to who earn an income by capturing photos of a celebrity looking directly at them. Good or bad, this is the current nature of the work that gets photos of celebrities into small and large publications around the world.
What happened in this case, was a woman was assisting Ms. Roan with her wardrobe and the signer walked past one of the designed spots on the carpet. A photographer was upset because they did not have a chance to get the all-important frontal photo, and said to woman assisting that they must use all the marks. Stress, pressure and poor communication from each party played a role in Roan incorrectly, but understandably thinking the photographer was directing the argument towards her. As a result, she responded the way that she did.
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