It honestly felt like Lana del Rey spent most of 2020 talking about her new album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club. She did so much advanced promotion for it, I thought for sure the album came out at some point in 2020 and I just missed it? But no, she’s only releasing it now, in 2021. Perhaps she wanted to get some distance from her entirely self-made mess where she was “advocating” for delicate, fragile white women at the expense of women of color or something. I honestly still don’t understand what Lana was trying to do, but she offended so many people.
So she got some distance from that, and now here we are, with Lana releasing the art from Chemtrails. As you can see, the album cover features Lana with a gaggle of ladies at a picnic table. Lana wrote: “There’s always turmoil and upheaval and in the midst of it- there’s always beautiful music too…introducing my new album chemtrails over the country club.” Okay. Then she commented on her own post with this:
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.
Deep sigh…Okay. So…I have no idea why I think I’m some kind of Lana-to-English translator, but my read on this is that she was trying to get ahead of a criticism which hadn’t even appeared, the criticism of “is Lana’s album cover just Lana with a group of white women and one token woman of color?” But when you try to “get out ahead of an issue,” you often make it worse. “In 11 years working I have always been extremely inclusive without even trying to.” Girl. What. “I’m not the one storming the capital, I’m literally changing the world by putting my life and thoughts and love out there…” Girl. What. Why is she so bad at this?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.
JFC she is LITERALLY toKKKenizing women of color RIGHT HERE and now she wants us to call it inclusive #GIRLBYE #NeverLana
Right. She’s actually so timely with this because is SUCH a white woman. At every turn, her every comment just drips with her white womanhood.
Unfortunately for her, it’s a tone/style that is losing ground day by day.
She’s so dreary.
Jeez this is a train wreck.
She has every cliche here
“I am not racist”
“I have black friends”
She really wants brownie points for doing the basic human things. Anyway in all of this I get flashes of ‘white lives matter”.
My boyfriends have been rappers
Ma’am you literally dated a cop
Am I the only one who doesn’t like her music?
Nope. I’ll sit with you.
From the beginning I’ve thought her music was overrated, and her tone deaf (at best) public statements and decision to go after the writer who wrote a pretty complimentary profile of her really sealed the deal for me. I consider Lana del Rey someone who should be rigorously ignored.
Omg. This girl is ignorant AF. For someone who thinks she’s so meta with all-encompassing agency, she reminds me of a used cotton ball.
It’s not a flex to say you have been “inclusive” without even trying. You are a white woman. It’s your job to educate yourself on your privilege and to actively work to be anti-racist.
Lana is the LIVING EMBODIMENT…of Whyte Entitlement…
She offends me….always has…probably always will…
she bothers me.
Hasn’t learned to mind the business that pays her after her 2020 anti BW rant but comes out with this ‘I’m not racist as I’ve had rappers (guess that means black) boyfriends& POC friends unprovoked. A mess
She’s literally NOT changing the world with her music.
Side note: yesterday was Brent Smith’s birthday (from Shinedown), a man who literally seems to put my therapy sessions to music. Lana del rey could never.
She doesn’t have a publicist and it shows. She should hire someone to take her phone away from her sometimes. She brings these problems upon herself because she’s so defensive/can’t tolerate criticism of any kind. Kind of how Taylor Swift was for a long time. I love Lana’s music but she’s embarrassing me big time with all of this.
@Amber I totally agree. I thought, “Where TF is her PR person in all of this?!?!?!” If she doesn’t have one she really does need to hire one asap. I also love her music but haven’t listened to it since all her bizarro racist s–t posting last summer.
Her grossness really turned me off of her music. I thought some of it was almost okay for a while, but now everything gets skipped.
What an absolut idiot
I’m just listening to her being interviewed on BBC radio 1. LdR sounds drunk and mind-bogglingly ignorant. Starts off repeating the inclusivity argument, it was even worse this time. And Trump “didn’t know what he was doing” when he was inciting riots. Annie Mac sounds embarrassed. I’ve got a headache.
I mean… Just the idea that her usage of ‘rappers’ is meant to denote Black artists tells me that Lana very much needs to try to be inclusive.
She should stop hunting for brownie points and focus on her very poor live performance skills and bland stage presence. She’s very lazy on stage.
I used to love her but tbh her music made me romantisise toxic relationships. I stopped listening to her after her tepid response to Me Too, while I was trying to leave my ex.
When she did that white tears bs that was the dumbest thing ever 🙄