Lana Del Rey raised eyebrows Sunday when she shared the artwork for her forthcoming album, Chemtrails over the Country Club, on Instagram along with a lengthy comment in which she boasted about being “extremely inclusive” and dating rappers.
The album cover is an old-timey black and white photo of Del Rey and several other women posing and smiling around a table. In her Instagram caption, the singer wrote, “There’s always turmoil and upheaval and in the midst of it- there’s always beautiful music too.”
In a comment Del Rey wrote under her own post, however, things started to get hairy.
The entire comment reads:
I also want to say that with everything going on this year! And no this was not intended-these are my best friends, since you are asking today. And damn! As it happens when it comes to my amazing friends and this cover yes there are people of color on this records picture and that’s all I’ll say about that but thank you.
My beautiful friend Valerie from Del Rio Mexico, my dearest friend Alex and my gorgeous friend Dakota Rain as well as my sweetheart Tatiana.
these are my friends this is my life. We are all a beautiful mix of everything- some more than others which is visible and celebrated in everything I do. In 11 years working I have always been extremely inclusive without even 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.
Del Rey’s Instagram post and comment quickly became the subject of much discussion, mockery, and, of course, memes on Twitter.
Some people made fun of the album cover, which looked to them like a cursed, autumnal sorority group photo.
Others took issue with different parts of Del Rey’s freewheeling comment. In particular, many people noted that “my boyfriends have been rappers” was not the woke statement Del Rey seemed to think it was.
Boasting about being “extremely inclusive without even trying” and “literally changing the world” with her music also sounded brazen and unintentionally funny.
People also expressed sympathy for Del Rey’s publicists, who have had to deal with multiple unprompted, tone-deaf rants from the singer over the past few months. Back in May, Del Rey caught flak for calling out several women of color including Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, and Cardi B in a lengthy Instagram post that slammed critics who said she “glamorizes abuse.”
After all that, Del Rey still did not announce a release date for Chemtrails over the Country Club, which was originally slated to come out last September. She did, however, share the tracklist and say that a new music video is coming out today.
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