Nearly a month after a widely discussed incident involving his family and pop star Chappell Roan, footballer Jorginho Frello has issued a new statement, expressing regret over how the situation unfolded.
In March, Jorginho claimed that his wife Catherine Harding and their 11-year-old daughter had an uncomfortable encounter with Chappell’s security guard during Lollapalooza in Brazil. According to his earlier account, the child had simply smiled at Chappell while passing by during breakfast at a hotel, before a guard allegedly approached their table in what he described as an ‘extremely aggressive’ manner.
Chappell later denied involvement, saying she “did not see a woman and a child” and did not ask anyone from her team to approach them.
In an update shared on April 13 via Instagram Stories, Jorginho revisited the situation and offered further clarity, saying he felt that it was important to clarify everything now that “new information has come to light.”
“I made my initial statement in the heat of the moment, after hearing that my child and wife had been approached by an adult male security guard in an intimidating way. I reacted as any father would. My priority is, and always will be, protecting my family, and that is exactly what I did. I also want to make clear that the situation did occur as it was originally described. At the time, we acted on the information that was available to us,” he wrote.
Jorginho went on to explain that new details changed his understanding of the incident, particularly after communication between both sides.
“Since then, I have become aware of new information that has changed my understanding of parts of what happened. Chappell Roan made a public statement, reached out privately to Catherine, and our teams also spoke directly. It became clear that she had no knowledge of what took place at breakfast and had not asked anyone to approach them. She was understanding and sympathetic to what had happened to our child.”
He added that the security guard later clarified he was not working for Chappell at the time.
“The security guard himself has since confirmed publicly that he was representing another artist at the hotel at the time. While we still do not know what prompted him to approach them, and do not believe an 11-year-old at breakfast could reasonably be seen as any kind of security threat, it is now clear that he was not acting on behalf of Chappell.”
Jorginho then maintained that he "regret the impact" of the incident he now describes as a ‘misunderstanding’.
“It was, ultimately, a misunderstanding in that respect, and I am glad to set the record straight. It’s important to me that this is clarified fairly and accurately. I regret the impact this situation has had on Chappell Roan, Catherine, Ada, and our family,” he emphasized.
READ: Chappell Roan breaks silence on alleged incident with 11-year-old fan
Despite standing firm on his initial intent to protect his loved ones, Jorginho acknowledged the importance of recognizing when circumstances are not as they first appeared.
“I will always stand up for my family. But I also know how to recognize when things were not quite what they seemed at first.”
He also called for respect online amid the controversy.
“Thank you for the support we received during this sensitive moment. I do, however, want to make one thing very clear: I do not support or encourage hate speech or online attacks from any side. Respect, empathy, and humility are values I carry and teach my family every single day."
“As far as I am concerned, this matter is closed,” he concluded.
With the clarification now laid out, Jorginho closes the chapter on the issue, underscoring both accountability and empathy as he moves forward.
As of writing, Chappell has yet to release another statement regarding Jorginho’s apology.