Charli XCX explains why being a pop star is “really embarrassing” in new Substack
Charli XCX has posted an honest account of how she views fame and stardom on Substack, explaining why, oftentimes, the job can be “embarrassing”.
In her first post on the platform, the singer-songwriter behind the global Brat phenomenon explained that “being a pop star has its pros and cons.”
However, she was adamant that she does not deem herself a pop-star, but an artist, but this piece of writing focuses only on the idea of the “pop-star because it was my original dream, because it’s the role in my life I have the most experience navigating and because it’s also the most ridiculous one.”
First, the ‘Apple’ singer admits that being a pop star can be “really fucking fun”, thanks to parties, free gifts, great meals, and holidays. However, she details an important dichotomy: “You get to feel special, but you also have to at points feel embarrassed by how stupid the whole thing is.”
She hones in on a moment where she might enter via the backdoor of a restaurant with friends who are just “along for the ride, [and] give a half smile to the head chef (who probably hates you) and the waiters (who probably hate you too) as they sweat away doing an actual real service industry job while you strut through the kitchen.”
Another element of shame that comes with the role is the impact of family. The star wrote, “Sometimes being a pop star can be really embarrassing, especially when you’re around old friends of family members who have known you since before you could talk.”
Speaking of fan culture and para-social relationships, she writes, “You also get to have fans and their dedication to your work makes you feel like they will be there for you until the end of time, even though in reality they won’t. You get to stand on stage and feel like a God.”
Turning again to the relationship between fan and artist, Charli writes, “Another thing about being a pop star is that you cannot avoid the fact that some people are simply determined to prove that you are stupid.”
She puts this down to “the patriarchal society we unfortunately live in [that] has successfully brainwashed us all. We are still trained to hate women, to hate ourselves and to be angry at women if they step out of the neat little box that public perception has put them in.”
Detailing her own experience of such reactions, the singer shared that she had backlash after joining the literary platform, as “some people were surprised I even had enough brain cells left to write because of all that partying I do.”
They represented “a small wave of people being annoyed I’d broken down the walls of my box they were determined to keep me in, the box, or should I say the brand, of the party girl who smokes cigs, does coke, loves the color green and has the capacity for nothing else. To them I’m a silly little idiot because that’s what they desire me to be.”
This is a busy time for Charli XCX. The star recently confirmed that her next project will be the album soundtrack for the Emerald Fennell movie adaptation of the classic romance tale, Wuthering Heights.
Additionally, she has recently released the first trailer from her A24 movie, The Moment, which is set to star Kylie Jenner, Isaac Powell, Rachel Sennott, Alexander Skarsgård, and more. Following the star as she navigated the Brat phenomenon, the movie is set to arrive in cinemas on January 30th, 2026.
Watch the new trailer below.
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