Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Lana Del Rey criticises female singers for claiming she ‘glamourises abuse’ as she reveals album release date

Singer says she’s ‘not not a feminist’ in lengthy Instagram post

Isobel Lewis
Thursday 21 May 2020 09:08 EDT
Comments
Lana Del Rey announces new spoken word album to benefit Native American organisation

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Lana Del Rey has confirmed that her new album will be released in September and will address the double standards she has experienced as a woman in the music industry.

On Thursday (21 May) morning, the “Summertime Sadness” singer shared a lengthy Instagram post expressing her frustration at being “crucified” for singing about “emotionally abusive” relationships where other female performers hadn’t faced the same criticism.

Del Rey wrote: “Now that Doja Cat, Ariana [Grande], Camila [Cabello], Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé 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 glamourising abuse??????”

She continued: “I’m fed up with female writers and alt singers saying that I glamourise 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 relationships all over the world.

“With all the topics women are finally allowed to explore… I think it’s pathetic that my minor lyrical exploration detailing my sometimes or submissive or passive roles in my relationships has often made people say I’ve set women back hundreds of years.”

Del Rey explained: “I’m not not a feminist – but there has to be a place in feminism for women who look and act like me – the kind of woman who says no but men hear yes… the kind of women who get their own stories and voices taken away from them by stronger women or by men who hate women.”

The singer revealed that she would be touching on these topics in her forthcoming seventh studio album, White Hot Forever, which will be released on 5 September 2020.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in