Why Is Lana Del Rey Canceled? Let Us Count the Ways She's Sparked Controversy
Published March 24 2021, 3:03 p.m. ET
You know you've "made it big" when you get canceled — just ask Jeffree Star, David Dobrik, Taylor Swift, Lizzo, and countless other high-profile celebrities who have dealt with online backlash in recent years. Sometimes, cancelations are warranted because they're in response to racist, transphobic, or otherwise hateful/unacceptable behavior. Other times, however, people are left scratching their heads in confustion.
So why is Lana Del Rey canceled? Let's take a closer look.
Why is Lana Del Rey canceled?
The cancelation of Lana Del Rey stems from past (and ongoing) controversies involving the singer.
It all started after Lana's album "Norman F---ing Rockwell!" was released in August 2019, and she faced backlash for "glamorizing abuse" and being "anti-feminist." She later fielded accusations of racism and behaving irresponsibly during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other social/political points of contention.
Keep reading for more details.
Lana Del Rey has been criticized for being anti-feminist and for glamorizing abuse.
Lana took to social media in May 2020 to respond to criticisms about her music — but unfortunately, she didn't go about it in the best way. The way she began her Instagram post is specifically what angered a ton of people.
“Now that Doja Cat, Ariana, Camila, Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyonce have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, f---ing, 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??????” she wrote.
Lana added, "I'm fed up with female writers and alt singers saying that I glamorize abuse when in reality I'm just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent emotionally abusive all over the world."
The message continued on for a bit after that, of course, but folks on social media really honed in on the fact that Lana seemingly threw fellow female pop stars under the bus — who were also mostly women of color.
One Twitter user responded with, “I’m all for different styles of music being interpreted individually by the public but just because you’re getting negative feedback doesn’t give you the right to hate on other artists (also don’t minimalise artists career to be about the same thing)”
In a comment that has since been deleted, Lana returned to Instagram to clarify her statement: “To be clear because I knowwwwww you love to twist things. I f---ing love these singers and I know them that’s why I mentioned them. I would also like to have some of the same freedom of expression without judgement of hysteria. There you go.”
Lana Del Rey's mesh-style face mask caused an uproar.
In October 2020, Lana was also widely criticized for wearing a mesh-style face mask — amid a global pandemic — while hosting a book signing at a Barnes & Noble store in Los Angeles.
Lana Del Rey's cover art for "Chemtrails Over the Country" prompted her to make racially insensitive comments.
Fast-forward to January 2021 when Lana unveiled black-and-white cover art for her album "Chemtrails Over the Country Club," which features the singer smiling next to friends around a table.
The singer commented on her Instagram post — preemptively defending the racial makeup of the people featured in the photo.
"No this was not intended-these are my best friends, since you are asking today," she wrote. "As it happens when it comes to my amazing friends and this cover, yes, there are people of color on this record's picture and that's all I'll say about that. We are all a beautiful mix of everything — some more than others, which is visible and celebrated in everything I do."
Lana continued: "In 11 years working I have always been extremely inclusive without trying to. My best friends are rappers, my boyfriends have been rappers. My dearest friends have been from all over the place, so before you make comments again about a WOC/POC issue, I'm not the one storming the capital, I'm literally changing the world by putting my life and thoughts and love out there on the table 24 seven. Respect it."
Let's just say that didn't go over very well. At all.
Lana's comments about Donald Trump and the Capital riot were also widely criticized.
Also in January 2021, Lana shared that she didn't believe President Donald Trump knew what he was doing ahead of the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
"You know, he doesn't know that he's inciting a riot and I believe that," Lana told BBC Radio's Annie Mac on Jan. 12, adding that Trump had "delusions of grandeur."
It doesn't appear that Lana Del Rey has done anything particularly cancel-worthy since then. However, considering "Chemtrails Over the Country Club" dropped in March 2021, the singer's name has been back in the headlines — and so have her many past controversies.