Security guard takes 'full responsibility' for Chappell Roan hotel controversy

A security guard has claimed responsibility for his handling of an incident at a hotel in São Paulo involving footballer Jorginho's 11-year-old stepdaughter and Chappell Roan. He confirmed he was not part of the singer’s team.

The security guard, identified as celebrity bodyguard Pascal Duvier, said he was the person who reprimanded Jorginho's wife, Catherine Harding, over the behaviour of the couple's 11-year daughter in a Brazilian hotel last Sunday, March 22.

"I do not normally address online rumours, but the accusations currently circulating are false and constitute defamation," said Duvier in a statement on Instagram on Wednesday, March 25.

"I take full responsibility. I 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."

Duvier went on to explain that he "made a judgment call," influenced by information obtained from the hotel, events he had witnessed in the days prior, and the heightened overall security risk of the location.

He said that while his interaction with the mother was "calm and with good intentions", the outcome of the exchange was "regretful".

The security guard was proven to have worked with several celebrities in the past, including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

Harding and her daughter were in São Paulo to see Roan perform at Lollapalooza. The former Chelsea and Arsenal player said that during breakfast, his daughter recognised the popstar, walked past her table to confirm that it was her, smiled, and returned to her mother.

"What happened next 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 she shouldn't allow my daughter to 'disrespect' or 'harass' other people," Jorginho took to Instagram.

"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," he added.

Roan herself addressed the situation in a video statement the day after, apologising to the mother and daughter:

"I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do not hate children — that is crazy. I'm sorry to the mother and child that someone was assuming that you would do something, and if you felt uncomfortable that makes me really sad. You did not deserve that."

"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. They did not come up to me — they weren't doing anything!"

Roan has received a lot of backlash since Jorginho posted his statement. She has also challenged paparazzi culture and been very clear about her boundaries in the past.

In 2024, the singer went viral for confronting a photographer at the MTV Video Music Awards. That same year, at the Olivia Rodrigo GUTS tour movie premiere, Roan confronted another photographer, recognising him for having been rude to her at previous events, and demanding that he apologise.

Earlier this month, in Paris, she was recorded filming paparazzi and autograph seekers, saying that they were following and harassing her.