NEWSLionel Richie Bashes Celebrities Who 'Ignore' Fans After Chappell Roan Security Guard Drama: 'The Universe Gave You What You Asked For'

Lionel Richie bashed celebrities who 'ignore' fans after Chappell Roan's security guard allegedly harassed a child.
March 27 2026, Updated 12:05 p.m. ET
Lionel Richie is not giving disrespectful celebrities the benefit of the doubt.
Just one week after an incident took place between Chappell Roan’s security guard and a fan, the 76-year-old gave advice to fellow stars who do not treat people around them with kindness.
Lionel Richie guest-starred on the 'VEEPS Artist Friendly' podcast.
“There’s one thing you didn’t calculate. I hope you like people,” Richie said during the Wednesday, March 25, episode of the “VEEPS Artist Friendly” podcast. “Because if you don’t like people, here’s how it’s going to sound. You spend the first half of your career going, ‘Look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me.’ And then you finally get famous. ‘Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me.’”
The musician noted that when someone suddenly becomes famous, they can’t just disconnect from the world.
“The universe gave you what you asked for,” he expressed. “You want to be famous and rich without the people? It doesn’t work like that. You have to be able to engage.”

Lionel Richie makes it a point to be kind to fans.
Host Joel Madden credited Richie for “acknowledg[ing] people” and asking, “Hi, how are you?” in everyday life when they come up to him.
“I was invisible once,” the award-winning artist admitted. “They want to say something to you. And you can see it on their face. They want to say something. And for me to ignore them, would be the worst.”
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Chappell Roan's security guard was accused of harassing a child.
Madden, who is Richie’s son-in-law, recalled fans telling him in airports and hotels: “Your father-in-law was here — he’s the best.”
The “We Are the World” singer emphasized the importance of always staying kind.
“Without social media, without anything we have of new technology. You know what travels fast? That guy was a freaking d---,” he explained. “I always relate it to planting seeds. When you plant f–k you seeds, you get f--- you flowers. Nothing grows. So, if you plant a career of f--- you flowers, it’s coming back to haunt you.”
Inside the Chappell Roan Security Guard Drama

Chappell Roan denied any ill will toward Jude Law's daughter.
Richie’s comments come after Roan’s security guard reportedly harassed Jude Law's 11-year-old daughter, Ada, at their hotel in São Paulo, Brazil. The child walked past the singer’s table at a restaurant before the guard allegedly disrespected her.
Chappell Roan Responds to Whether Her Security Guard Harassed Jude Law's Daughter

Chappell Roan said it's 'unfair for security to just assume someone doesn't have good intentions.'
Roan denied the incident, per a March 22 video.
"I didn't even see a woman and a child. Like, I did not. No one came up to me, no one bothered me. Like, I was just sitting at breakfast in my hotel, [and] I think these people were staying at the hotel as well," she said via Instagram Stories, noting she "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," the musician, 28, continued. "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."


