The security guard embroiled in the controversy between Chappell Roan and the 11-year-old Ada Law has finally spoken out. Pascal Duvier, in a statement posted on Instagram on Wednesday, March 25th—four days after soccer star Jorginho accused the musician of sending the guard to accuse his daughter of disrespecting and harassing Roan during a hotel stay in São Paulo—explained that the accusations were false and constituted defamation.
Duvier began his statement by saying that he doesn't "normally address online rumors," but felt compelled to respond to the current accusations. "I take full responsibility for the interactions on March 21st," he wrote. He explained that he was at the São Paulo hotel "on behalf of another individual" and was not part of the musician's personal security team. "The actions I took were not on behalf of Chappell Roan, her personal security team, her management, or any other individuals," he wrote. "I made a judgment call based on information we obtained from the hotel, events I had witnessed in the days prior, and the heightened overall security risk of our location."
Duvier concluded by saying that his sole interaction with Ada's mother was "calm and with good intentions" and that he regretted the outcome of the encounter. The statement comes one day after a spokesperson for Roan, real name Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, told PEOPLE that the Grammy winner has "zero tolerance" for "aggressive behavior" toward fans.
Roan also issued a video on March 22nd addressing the incident, saying she had no affiliation with the security guard. "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 in her Instagram Stories, adding that she "did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child."
Ada's mother shared her side of the story in an Instagram video the same day, saying she didn't realize the situation "would get this crazy." She explained that she, her husband, and her daughter were all sitting down for breakfast when they saw a woman with long curly red hair walk past, and she asked Ada, "Do you think that's Chappell Roan?" Ada then decided to walk to the nearby garden area to see if the woman was indeed Roan.
"She didn't have her phone, she didn't try to take a picture, she didn't try to approach her," Harding said. "She literally didn't do anything." Once Ada returned to the table, the security guard then allegedly approached them to "berate and scold" them with a "very aggressive tone."
Harding said that while she understands Roan's response that it wasn't her security and she didn't do it, "100% this security guard was not a security guard of the hotel... I don't know if he was her personal security guard, but he was with her. That is all I know."
She added that while she respects Roan's right to privacy, she feels like if she really didn't send him, the security guard overstepped a boundary because he is quite intimidating. She also alleged that the security guard said he was going to file a complaint and that her daughter was "badly educated."
The recent incident follows Roan's previous pleas for boundaries between herself and fans, as well as paparazzi. Earlier this month, she made headlines for calling out a group of photographers and admirers who waited outside the restaurant where she was dining for "harassing" her.
