Chappell Roan has spent her career championing the LGBTQ community, and at the Resonator Awards presented by We Are Moving the Needle on Tuesday night, she was recognized for that advocacy.
Related
After accepting the Harmonizer Award from Heart’s Nancy Wilson, the Gen Z pop star addressed the audience with a speech she read aloud from a piece of paper. “I get uncomfortable when I get told I’m a good person,” she began candidly. “I think that has to do with some type of Christian guilt or something, but it’s cool when people you really look up to think that you’re a good person or that you’re doing good things.”
“I only know what to do because I see other people in my life doing good things and listening to trans people who need representation and money for healthcare and rent,” she continued. “I think that it’s just an artist’s — and anybody who has money — it’s kind of your duty to give it away. I don’t really know what else there is to harmony other than giving.”
The Harmonizer Award is reserved each year for an artist who uses their music to cultivate social change — something Roan has done in multiple ways since shooting to fame in 2024 with breakout album The Rise & Fall of a Midwest Princess. Beyond frequently speaking up on stage about LGBTQ rights — including at her 2024 Governor’s Ball set, where she publicly declined the White House’s invitation to perform — she also often features drag performers at her shows and donated $1 from each ticket sold on her 2025 Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things Tour to organizations supporting gay and trans youth in need.
Hosted by Fred Armisen, this year’s Resonator Awards also honored Chaka Khan, St. Vincent, Haim and Amy Allen. Olivia Rodrigo, a longtime friend of Roan’s, was also in attendance, as was Laufey.
Check out Roan’s speech below.