Lana Del Rey’s distinctive and melancholic style surely sets her apart from other artists in the industry. For years, she has successfully sold records and kept her fanbase intact and growing. However, her infamous posts from the past might still come back to haunt the singer from time to time, one where her remarks were considered racist and insensitive.
When you’re in the limelight, no controversial statement can be truly forgotten. So here’s a throwback to the time when Del Rey was dragged by netizens on the internet, sparking up conversations about important topics such as race, feminism, and artistic expression.
What Racist Comments Did Lana Del Rey Make Against Other Artists?
2020 was an excellent year for Lana Del Rey on the musical and productivity front, but she let the boredom of the pandemic get the best of her and posted an ill-formed thought online (via Friday Things). Her message seemed to put down female artists such as Beyoncé, Cardi B, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj.
The Summertime Sadness singer-songwriter boldly claimed how the other artists had only garnered fame by singing “songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating, etc.” And she did not stop there!
Now that Doja Cat, Ariana, Camila, Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have had numbers ones… can I please go back to singing about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect… without being crucified?
Understandably, these statements led to widespread backlash, something Del Rey might have seen coming but seemed to be unbothered by. Her comments were primarily seen as attacks on the success of women of color artists.
Each of her claims was picked apart by netizens, and even her fans jumped in to criticize her. The fact that she would even think about paving the way for artists like Beyoncé, who has been in the industry for years and proven herself to be a generational talent, was ridiculously absurd to many.
Why Is Lana Del Rey’s Music Criticized, but She Feels It Is Empowering?
Even though Lana Del Rey has given several hits and amassed an incomparable body of work, she is not immune to criticism when it comes to her songs. As the controversy stirred up, it brought her lyrics into the picture, particularly one line from Ultraviolence that went, “He hit me and it felt like a kiss.”
It seemed like she was glorifying physical abuse, and since then, she has refrained from engaging in such lyricism. Throughout all this, she had some loyal fans who still protected her image by claiming that her music showcased what complex and vulnerable love felt like. Even Lana Del Rey believed that she created music that is empowering to many, without glamorizing anything.
But the comments she made, urge one to wonder whether someone who voices such a controversial thought process could truly be empowering. To many, her statements came off as tone-deaf, as they undermined the struggles of other female artists in the industry, who’ve rightfully earned their spot in the space, regardless of what Lana Del Rey has to say about it.
