Lana Del Rey Gets Backlash For Naming Beyonce, Nicki Minaj In Letter

Norman F*cking Rockwell singer Lana Del Rey is currently under fire from music fans for breaking one of the cardinal rules of stan Twitter: You do NOT come for Beyonce.

Earlier today — way too early in the morning for anyone to be writing up posts on social media, because all the bad decisions are made at midnight — Lana posted a long open letter defending her lyrics and teasing a new album. However, in the first paragraph of the letter, she mentions pop peers like Ariana Grande, Beyonce, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Doja Cat, Kehlani, and Nicki Minaj as examples of singers who address topics like “being sexy, wearing no clothes, f*cking, cheating” when wondering why she received criticism in the past for touching on those subjects.

Unfortunately, the unspoken implication of her comparison is that these women had somehow escaped criticism when she was unfairly singled out. A five-minute Google quickly disabuses that notion, as all of the above have received censure in the past for everything from Ariana’s cultural appropriation to Cardi being damned as a poor example of motherhood. A quick perusal of the comments section of pretty much any music site proves that all of the aforementioned artists have been trash talked online for their images as well as their words.

Fans were quick to note the perceived hypocrisy in Lana’s statement and before you say “Video Games,” commenters tore into her for selling those other women short. As one observer put it: “Lana’s post would have been fine if she hadn’t compared herself to a group of mostly black women with the clear tone that she thinks she’s been treated worse by the media when that’s observably untrue.”

It’s pretty clear that she actually wanted to call out industry double standards but in doing so by using other women as her example, she set up up another double standard, demeaning her peers’ art and overlooking their struggles to fit her narrative. Let’s just chalk this one up to a learning moment and buckle down to wait for the inevitable Notes app apology.

https://twitter.com/shonfaye/status/1263393209801203712?s=09

In the meantime, check out more responses to Lana’s faux pas below.

https://twitter.com/lanadellai/status/1263466556580913152

https://twitter.com/repromantics/status/1263421863281045504?s=20

Yes, conversations about misogynistic double standards ARE important. But don’t make yourself a martyr for the cause by bringing down other women to make a point. Feminism is already for delicate cisgender white women, Lana. You’ve had a place at the table for a long time.

— kat bee (@katbeee) May 21, 2020

What’s blowing my mind is that Lana Del Rey is VERY successful. VERY accomplished. Her debut sold more records than names mentioned COMBINED. What is she talking about???

— martha (@mxmsworld) May 21, 2020