Lionel Ritchie has called out celebrities who are rude to fans. Lionel Ritchie was making an appearance on Joel Madden's Artist Friendly podcast on March 25, 2026. In that appearance, he talked about fame and being a public figure, calling out celebrities who ignore fans in the process:“I tell people when they get into the business: ‘There’s one thing you didn’t calculate. I hope you like people. 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."Lionel Ritchie continued:"The universe gave you what you were asking for. Now, what is it about people you don't like? You want to be famous and rich without the people? It doesn't work like that. You have to be able to engage."Lionel Ritchie went on to say to Madden, who is his son-in-law, about how celebrities can't just ignore the people who wish to interact with them, as doing so would be the worst thing for the people who just want a moment of someone's time:"You know what it is? I was invisible once. There's a person who—they're scared to death of you. 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."Lionel Ritchie also pointed out that fans of celebrities are also people who work, using the hypothetical scenario of him meeting a dignitary. He laid out how everyone from the cleaning staff of a building to the security that is meant to protect a celebrity like him, they are all people, and celebrities just have to meet and acknowledge them.Madden then said that whenever he travels, people tell him about Ritchie and how great he was. To which Lionel Ritchie said that word of mouth can be negative as well:"Without social media, without anything we have of new technology. You know what travels fast? That guy was a freaking d–k. I always relate it to planting seeds. When you plant f–k you seeds, you get f–k you flowers. Nothing grows. So, if you plant a career of f–k you flowers, it’s coming back to haunt you."Lionel Ritchie's comments come at a time when Chappell Roan is facing controversyWhile Ritchie did not name any particular celebrity in question, his comments did come at a time when Chappell Roan is facing controversy over her behaviour with fans.There was controversy over Chappell Roan's recording of reporters and fans who were following her when she was out in Paris. More recently, there was an incident before the singer's concert at Lollapalooza Brazil.Pop Crave @PopCraveLINKCatherine Harding, the mother of the 11-year-old girl who was confronted by Chappell Roan’s security guard, shares her side of the story.The incident involved Catherine Harding and her daughter, Ada Law, who were staying at the same hotel as Roan. Law recognized Roan and went near her, which reportedly led to a security guard confronting Law and her mother aggressively.This led to backlash against Roan, who responded with a statement in which she clarified that no one had ever bothered her and that the guard in question was not her security guard. This was disputed by Catherine Harding, who hit back at the singer and pointed out that the security guard was not the hotel security.