Lana Del Rey controversy

So as some of you may know, Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj recently became the first female rapper duo to hit number one! It was also a first number one for both of them. This is an amazing achievement for women of colour & women as a whole!

Yesterday Lana Del Rey posted a picture on Instagram talking about how many popular women artists sing and rap about sex / being sexy, yet she (Lana) is criticised for singing about her relationship experiences. She named a few women, including Nicki and Doja, I think it’s safe to assume their recent number one is what provoked Lana’s post. Here’s what Lana had to say:

Many people are taking her post differently. A lot of people are taking it as an attack on women who sing and rap about sex, and others are taking it as her supporting them but being upset that her lyrics gets criticised & twisted.

Lana is receiving a lot of hate online for this post - she is accused of being racist against black women (even though not all of the women she mentioned are black), and is also being accused of being misogynistic. Some of the things people are saying about her are pretty disgusting. Here’s what she said to defend herself:

I personally don’t think it’s right for people to make this an issue about race, as I don’t think Lana intended it to be about that. I think she’s just irritated that she can’t express her own experiences and relationships in her music without being dragged. However, I do think she’s ignoring the fact that the women she’s talking about are also facing these struggles, no women in the music industry has it easy unfortunately.

I hate seeing women get so much hate for expressing their feelings.

What are your thoughts?

Do you think her post shows racism and internalised sexism?

Do you think she sounds bitter towards successful women?

Do you think her feelings are valid?