Explaining the controversy around Chappell Roan’s security, Jorginho

A pop star. An athlete. An actor. And one very upset fan.

A convoluted web of sports, music, Hollywood and fandom has landed singer Chappell Roan in the spotlight. The star’s security team is facing accusations her security team made young fan cry, and the fan’s famous family spoke out about the debacle.

Here’s what to know about the controversy and why we are so invested in the fallout.

A hotel breakfast gone awry

The situation all started when soccer star Jorginho happened to be staying with his family at the same São Paulo, Brazil, hotel as Roan.

According to an account on Jorginho’s Instagram story on Saturday, March 21, his 11-year-old daughter was reduced to tears after an unpleasant run-in with Roan’s security guard.

According to the midfielder, his daughter recognized Roan and went near her table to confirm it was the “Pink Pony Club” singer.

“She didn’t even approach (Roan). 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,” Jorginho wrote. “What happened next was completely disproportionate.”

He continued: “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.”

Then the security guard allegedly took things further, as Jorginho said: “He even said he would file a complaint against them with the hotel, while my 11-year-old daughter was sitting there in tears. My daughter was extremely shaken and cried a lot.”

Is Jude Law involved?

While the Brazilian midfielder did not name the child involved in the incident, it is likely to have been the 11-year-old daughter of actor Jude Law and Catherine Harding (also known as Cat Cavelli).

Harding posted a photo of the girl at a São Paulo hotel, the Palácio Tangará, less than 24 hours before Jorginho’s post.

Law has not responded to the incident.

Roan: ‘You did not deserve that’

Roan spoke out and apologized on Sunday, March 22, following news of the mother and daughter’s unfortunate experience.

“I’m just gonna 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,” Roan said in a social media post Sunday.

“I didn’t even see a woman and a child, like, no one came up to me. No one bothered me. I was just sitting at breakfast in my hotel. I think these people were staying at the hotel, as well.”

“They did not come up to me. They weren’t doing anything,” Roan added on the girl and her mother. “It’s unfair for security to just assume someone doesn’t have good intentions when they have no reason to believe because there’s no action even taken, like, that’s so not what I stand behind.”

“I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do not hate children, like, that is crazy,” she added. “I’m sorry to that mother and child that someone was assuming something that you would do something and that if you felt uncomfortable, that makes me really sad. You did not deserve that.”

Harding shares her POV

Harding weighed in via a video also posted on Sunday in light of Roan’s response, saying “it’s getting a bit crazy” as she received deluges of messages about the apparent run-in gone wrong. She said she sees Roan as a “very talented artist” and she and family intended to attend Roan’s concert in São Paulo for her child’s birthday, but did not go to the show.

“It’s a little bit ruined because we did not go to the show last night,” she said in the video, in which she detailed the events of the apparent encounter.

“I know that Chappell has responded, saying that ‘It wasn’t her security and that she didn’t do it,'” Harding says. “100% this wasn’t a security guard of the hotel that’s what I can say, he looks after artists.”

While Harding, Law’s former partner, said she did not know whether or not Roan sent the guard to reprimand her daughter, the incident is a reminder that celebrities should are accountable for who is representing them and how they would act in public.

“I think her responsibility when you are a celebrity is to make sure the people who work for you and act on your behalf are acting on your behalf,” Harding says. If the guard were working for Roan, she says, “that’s a problem” because it does not align with the star’s perceived image.

“I hope she did not know and she did not send her security to do this,” Harding said.

Why fans are interested

Roan is an artist known for setting boundaries with fans and the media around her stardom. But the incident has struck a chord with many fans debating whether Roan had anything to do with the incident.

The truth: The answer may never be known. But many fans feel they know Roan personally and are therefore obligated an explanation. This could be because of a parasocial relationship, the “illusion of friendship” many followers feel with mega-popular stars like Roan, sociology experts have explained to USA TODAY. Because of a perceived bond with Roan, fans experience emotional responses to her behavior (or perhaps in the case, her team).

“We want our celebrities to be approachable, and nice, and smile all the time − and this is even more when we talk about women stars, as this is a reaction we expect from women − to cater to our needs and be emotionally available,” says Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, professor of American politics and gender at Case Western Reserve University. “When it doesn’t happen, people get angry.”

Contributing: Seth Vertelney, Brendan Morrow