Courtesy of Highsnobriety — *Courtesy of* *Highsnobriety*

It must be worms in the brain this week.

Thursday’s late-night Instagram post should’ve been a celebratory moment for Lana Del Rey. From exposing her plans to release a new album in the fall to her unleashing her creative muse through books of poetry, any artist being able to use their resources gained through the support of their fanbase to help another community should be an exuberant one. Yet, the first line of her declaration introduced users to a dismissive think piece filled with privileged undertones.

Lana Del Rey’s IG post caused an immense firestorm on social media concerning privilege, race dynamics within the music industry concerning women and more. Courtesy of Lana Del Rey’s Instagram — Lana Del Rey’s IG post caused an immense firestorm on social media concerning privilege, race dynamics within the music industry concerning women and more. *Courtesy of Lana Del Rey’s Instagram*

Whether intentional or not, the entitlement Rey must possess to believe that the women she name dropped hold a power so vigorous within their achievements that it physically halted her from producing music is interesting.

Maybe it’s the well-deserved praise of Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj’s features helping to push “Say So” and “Savage” to dominate Billboard’s R&B/Hip Hop Airplay charts that dug up her thoughts?

Or Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s quarantine love ballad debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?

Oh! Maybe Kehlani debuting No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B Songwriters charts for her lyrical production on It Was Good Until It Wasn’t?

It’s important to emphasize that their accomplishments shouldn’t hold the power to completely erase Rey’s career. You would think that that’s a self-explanatory statement, but being that we’re viewing a woman who defined herself as “not not a feminist” boldly downsize other women’s experiences within the music industry as a cherry topper for self-promotion, it’s obvious that she’s misinformed.

Now I won’t be purposefully obtuse to Lana’s observation that, yes, women have been more open with exploring themes such as sex, liberation and mental health within their music. Even reading Rey’s use of ‘allowed’ highlights the unnecessary target placed on women’s backs that dare to produce content concerning those subject matters. Strangely, the masses love to define topics that aren’t laced with bubblegum happiness as taboo, so women artists’ exploring their womanhood and unapologetically telling their stories is needed. All the women present in this letter stories are needed, even Lana Del Rey’s.

It’s also important to realize that, as an artist who’s been releasing work for the masses for 10 years, criticism will follow. Rey is a musician that takes tremendous pride in her work and how it’s perceived. That’s where her frustration lies. Certain reviews will uphold honesty filled with constructive criticism while others not. As a creator, it’s healthy for artists to build a space to unleash their emotions when shuffling through critiques, especially if negative. So Lana speaking of her discomforting relationship with reviews and not truly understanding the gripe behind certain prompts are normal. However, for Lana to slip on a ‘woe is me’ cape and insert her experiences with criticism as though the same women she name dropped in the beginning haven’t been through the same, nearly worse, is bold.

This note produced multiple conversations on social media [white feminism, differences in experiences between black women, women of color and white female artists in pop culture, womanhood], but one I had mixed feelings over was the outrage over her lyrics. Lana’s discography blends the toxicity, abuse and other rollercoaster of emotions she’s endured throughout her journey of love with somber, drawled production. She’s exposing her own experiences to implement a haven for other women to understand and relate to. Is she not allowed to explore and draw muse from problematic relationship dynamics she’s witnessed first hand?

Now that we’ve acknowledged the understanding sectors of Lana’s letter, lets also discuss her errors.

To specifically speak on the women of color she included, they’ve all endured devastating criticism for simply being their "‘authentic, delicate selves”– a place Rey feels isn’t present within feminism. Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and Doja Cat have been relentlessly shamed and criticized within this industry due to body shaming (a topic nearly all women unnecessarily thrown in Rey’s letter have endured), their musical content and more. Yet, they’ve mightily taken the criticism from their peers and audiences and transformed them into positive forces within their personas.

The criticism against Beyoncé has always held a ‘how dare a black woman stand powerfully in her blackness, womanhood and liberation’ undertone, even lewdly racial. From death threats and racial criticism from alt-right members for her support of the Black Lives Matter movement and speaking up against police brutality to her riveting 2016 CMA Awards performance alongside the Dixie Chicks, we haven’t even began to uncover the lethal criticism Beyoncé has countlessly faced.

Kehlani, who’s openly spoken up about her relationships through her music, endured bullying from rumors that she cheated on her then partner, Kyrie Irving, back in 2016. It eventually lead to her suicide attempt, where users continued to berate her, even accusing her attempt as a ‘cop out'. To this day, even though Irving cleared up the rumors as not true, people still attach that publicly terrifying experience to her name for a couple lowbrow likes on social media.

Just how these women have topped the charts with their sexually liberating tunes, these women have also grasped those same spaces with more in-depth, personal story-telling. What world is Rey romanticizing that because she openly expresses such topics in her music and it doesn’t receive the same championing as other artists receive that it makes their experiences in the industry nonexistent?

Relating to Rey’s music, one conversation I thoroughly appreciated were people dismissing her belief that she ‘paved the way for other women to stop putting on a happy face’ and to ‘be able to say whatever they wanted to in their music’. White women artists such as Fiona Apple, Stevie Nicks, Madonna and Meredith Brooks were constructing that very same road that Rey believes she paved before her career brewed into existence. That observation alone makes you wonder why not use this letter to emphasize the backlash her white counterparts experience when detailing their raw honesty in their music. She only used Ariana Grande, yet, still eliminated the shrewd reality that people relentlessly blamed her for the Manchester bombing and Mac Miller’s unfortunate overdose. Ariana’s inclusion in Rey’s letter also dispels the detailed groundwork that went into Grande’s album Thank U, Next. She didn’t have to name drop at all to tunnel vision her frustration with criticism, but she did. To make matters worse, her throwing in women of color ferociously showcases her ignorance with understanding that all women aren’t participating and playing in an even game. As a white woman, her privilege has opened multiple doors for her that women of color in powerful positions possibly haven’t been exposed to.

Lana Del Rey is not oppressed. She’s not the only artist singlehandedly enduring such criticism. Through her misinformed understanding of feminism, she should uproot her much needed lesson in its definition with much gratitude and appreciation. Her 1950’s romance aesthetic has continued to serve her greatly, for she’s still a prospering artist being recognized for her artistry [her 2019 Grammy nominations for Norman F*cking Rockwell and positive reviews from online music critics].

It’s incredibly simple, Lana. Don’t drag women of color into your sob story without fully considering the backfire they’ve endured from the same structures you’re frustrated with.

Editorial: Lana, lets talk