Lana Del Rey dismisses racism accusations as ‘bulls**t’ after fierce backlash over controversial Black female singer comments
Lana Del Rey’s new song ‘A&W’ is being called a return to form by fans (Mat Hayward/Getty Images)
Lana Del Rey has defended herself against accusations of racism, after a controversial Instagram post yesterday in which she announced her new album.
In the Instagram post, Lana Del Rey revealed her new album will be released on September 5 and also hit back at claims her songs have “glamourised abuse”, which went on to spark a debate about the treatment of women in the music industry.
Addressing previous criticisms of her music, Lana Del Rey began the post by writing: “Now that Doja Cat, Ariana, Camila, Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, f**king, cheating, etc – can I please go back to singing about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect, or dancing for money – or whatever i want – without being crucified or saying that I’m glamorising abuse???????”
What’s blowing my mind is that Lana Del Rey is VERY successful. VERY accomplished. Her debut sold more records than names mentioned COMBINED. What is she talking about???
— MXM (@mxmsworld) May 21, 2020
Yes, conversations about misogynistic double standards ARE important. But don’t make yourself a martyr for the cause by bringing down other women to make a point. Feminism is already for delicate cisgender white women, Lana. You’ve had a place at the table for a long time.— Kat Bee (@katbeee) May 21, 2020
Accusations of racism focused on the fact that most of the seven women she named are Black, although other details in her original post also drew criticism.
think Lana’s post would have been fine if she hadn’t compared herself to a group of mostly black women with the clear tone that she thinks she’s been treated worse by the media when that’s observably untrue— shon faye. (@shonfaye) May 21, 2020
Lana blatantly ignoring the criticism Beyoncé, Nicki, and other black women have received (and continue to) for being confident in their sexuality doesn’t sit right with me. Commercial success hasn’t made them exempt from misogynistic attacks masked as constructive criticism.— C (@BOYCOTTCAMILLE) May 21, 2020
I like Lana but her as a WOC, her statement just comes off as very tone deaf.
Mentioning a majority of black women in music who’ve all been literally crucified bc of their sexually explicit and trying to seem as tho it’s “easy” for them when it’s not is just not it.
— mani? (@BLACKGIRLMANI) May 21, 2020
In the comments section of that post, Lana Del Rey added today that “to be clear” because “I knowwwwww you love to twist things” she “f**king loves” the singers she named, which she said is why she named them.
“I would also like to have some of the same freedom of expression without judgement of hysteria,” she clarified.
she "could have literally said anyone"?? she could have literally said NO ONE pic.twitter.com/KkJ1qTCBce— nikita (@HereKitaKita) May 21, 2020
Lana Del Rey continued to comment on the controversy in her Instagram Stories, writing: “Bro. This is sad to make it about a WOC issue when I’m talking about my favourite singers.
“I could’ve literally said anyone but I picked my favourite f**king people.”
She added: “And this is the problem with society today, not everything is about whatever you want it to be.
“It’s exactly the point of my post – there are certain women that culture doesn’t want to have a voice it may not have to do with race I don’t know what it has to do with.
“I don’t care anymore but don’t ever ever ever ever bro – call me racist, because that is bulls**t.”
the ignorance in her statements is infuriating!!! pic.twitter.com/wVqGZpBixz— em (@allumirrr) May 22, 2020
She continued to slam critics who thought she was calling out the Black female artists she named specifically.
“By the way the singers I mentioned are my favourite singers so if you want to try and make a bone to pick out of that like you always do be my guest, it doesn’t change the fact that I haven’t had the same opportunity to express what I wanted to express without being completely decimated and if you want to say that that has something to do with race that’s your opinion but that’s not what I was saying.”
She concluded by writing: “When I said people who look like me – I meant the people who don’t look strong or necessarily smart, or like they’re in control etc. It’s about advocating for a more delicate personality, not for white woman – thanks for the Karen comments tho. V helpful.”
