Chappell Roan Echoes 'Exercising Your Free Will' In Defense Of Grammys Nudity

Chappell Roan stands firmly behind her outfit choice for the 2026 Grammys.

The musician is having a good laugh at the wide gasps from fans and celebrities alike after her sheer dress reveal, which showed off nothing more than skin. She has been very expressive with her outfits, often channeling more than regular tastes, making heads turn.

One thing Chappell Roan would not do is eat her words, and her expressiveness is not streamlined to her outfits, as she is ever ready to speak her mind. She previously called out a photographer for being disrespectful to her at an event more than six months after the said encounter occurred. 

Roan attended the 2026 Grammys in a dress that made some gasp, and others whisper. The singer, who was barely clad, stepped out in a sheer burgundy Mugler dress, which did little justice to the upper part of her body. The dress showed off her back, chest area, and was attached to the front via a pair of faux piercings.

The bare back look highlighted her collection of temporary body ink, notably the giant tattoo of a lace panel on her back. The pony on her chest also stole the show.

She arrived at the event with a matching burgundy cape, which she later dropped for the red carpet reveal before flashing cameras. The dress flowed down to her legs and followed behind as she walked, but her black and gold heels could still be seen.

The completely see-through dress did not hide her piece of underwear either. Roan uploaded photos of her brow-raising look to Instagram on Monday, where she laughed off all the commotion in the caption. She wrote:

"Giggling because I don't even think this is THAT outrageous of an outfit. The look's actually awesome and weird. I recommend just exercising your free will it's really fun and silly." 

She then expressed gratitude for the Grammys and everyone who voted for her before tagging her stylists, makeup artist, fashion designer, among others. 

Before the evening ended, Roan changed into a different outfit, which was an ethereal Rodarte dress from the label's 2007 fall/winter collection. The look was more conservative than her red carpet outfit, and she wore this before presenting the award for Best New Artist to Olivia Dean during the ceremony.

Photos uploaded to Page Six also show the artist's final look of the evening, which was a fairytale-inspired white caped look from Dilara Findikoglu's spring/summer 2026 collection.

While the 27-year-old musician was nominated in two categories, she walked away without any awards in her hand. She was up for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, both for "The Subway." 

Kendrick Lamar's "Luther" won the Record of the Year award, and Roan lost Best Pop Solo Performance to Lola Young's "Messy."

One thing Roan does on point is detail her experiences through her music. From dating and self-discovery to heartbreak as a queer woman, her songs carry the message while being intensely fun and purposely provocative. No surprise, Roan extends the same energy to her outfits.

She often channels characters like ethereal forest fairies and ominous couture-clad villains. Roan notably goes against regular standards with her outfits, and working with stylist Genesis Webb, they bring these creatures to life.

Roan had previously expressed that she loved looking different, "pretty and scary or pretty and tacky or not just pretty."Fashion Magazine, in an earlier release, noted how the singer also expresses herself via makeup, nails, and hair to match the vibes of her outfits.

One notable recent look was from the 2024 VMAs. The "Hot To Go" artist stepped on the red carpet in a Y/Project outfit, stunning like a medieval queen.

She arrived with her own antique rug, a sword, and a velvet cape. Roan sealed the look with her long chrome nails and a gothic cross necklace, giving the complete witchy effect.

One of the prices that come with fame is getting recognized everywhere you go, leading to fans coming for autographs, pictures, and more. Roan recounted the pressure she faced with the rise to fame, sharing an incident where she was harassed at the airport.

The singer disclosed that she was at the airport around 5:30 in the morning, where she was met by two men asking her to sign some posters. Judging from their looks, the musician discerned they were not fans and declined to sign, but the men didn't give up.

One of them followed her to the TSA line, hurling words at her, stating that she should be humble and remember where she came from, and The Blast shared that Roan shared that she was shaken in disbelief.

After that incident, she decided that she would quit if her thriving career posed a danger to her peace and safety.

In October 2024, at the red carpet premiere of Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS World Tour, Roan had a brief altercation with a photographer she claimed was disrespectful to her at the Grammys earlier that year in February. 

As she posed for the paparazzi, she spotted the said photographer and called them out, asking for an apology. "I deserve an apology for that.. You need to apologize to me," she said, but the photographer did not respond.

The singer kept pressing for an apology till a member of the staff interfered, guiding her away from the scene. Earlier in the same year, she also got into a tense moment at the MTV Video Music Awards with a photographer who told her to "shut the f-ck up," to which she immediately retorted. 

The Blast noted that Roan's viral moment, where she clapped back at the photographers, was not widely praised, as many fans called her out, claiming she was doing too much. Other fans praised her for being confident and defending herself, not minding the public's eyes.

What outfit should we expect from Chappell Roan next?