Lana Del Rey Hits Back at Critics Who Say She 'Glamorizes Abuse': I 'Paved the Way' for Top Female Artists

Lana Del Rey at 2020 grammys
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The 34-year-old singer also announced that she's releasing a new album.

UPDATE: Del Rey responded to the backlash at her earlier post on Thursday by telling her critics to "#f**koff." 

The singer also fought back against those claiming she was racist in the comments. She highlighted her response on her Instagram story. 

"Bro. This is sad to make it about a WOC issue when I'm talking about my favorite singers. I could've literally said anyone but I picked my favorite f**king people," Del Rey wrote. "And this is the problem with society today, not everything is about whatever you want it to be. It's exactly the point of my post -- there are certain women that culture doesn't want to have a voice it may not have to do with race I don't know what it has to do with. I don't care anymore but don't ever ever ever ever bro -- call me racist because that is bulls**t."

She added in another comment, "And my last and final note on everything -- when I said people who look like me -- I meant the people who don't look strong or necessarily smart, or like they're in control etc. it's about advocating for a more delicate personality, not for white woman -- thanks for the Karen comments tho. V helpful." 

The singer later shared a video to her Instagram page, captioned, "Nobody gets to tell your story."

"I just want to remind you that in that post, my one and only personal declaration I’ve ever made -- thanks for being so warm and welcoming -- was about the need for fragility in the feminist movement," she explained in the black and white clip. "When I mentioned women who look like, I didn’t mean white like me. I mean the kind of women who, you know, other people might not believe because they think 'Oh, well look at her she fucking deserves it' or whatever."

"When I get on the pole people call me a whore, but when [FKA] Twigs gets on the pole it’s art," she continued. "The culture is super sick right now... I think what’s really sad is that as a personal advocate, as a girl’s girl, as someone who wants the best for every culture, you know, when Marianne Williamson was talking about reparations to the Black community that never got done during the emancipation -- that was why I liked her, because I always felt that way."

Del Rey ended her video by addressing the artists she named in her initial post, saying, "I’m sorry that some of the girls I talked to that I mentioned in that post have a super different opinion of my insight especially because we’ve been so close for so long."

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Lana Del Rey is calling out her critics. The 34-year-old "Born to Die" singer took to Instagram early Thursday morning to address how her music has been reviewed over the past decade in comparison to other top artists like Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Cardi B and more. 

"Now that Doja Cat, Ariana [Grande], Camila [Cabello], Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, f**king, cheating etc -- can I please go back to singing about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect, or dancing for money -- or whatever I want -- without being crucified or saying that I'm glamorizing abuse??????" her message begins.

Del Rey notes that one particularly frustrating narrative from critics of her music is the idea that she "glamorizes abuse" when singing about her relationships. 

"I'm fed up with female writers and alt singers saying that I glamorize abuse when in reality I'm just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent emotionally abusive relationships all over the world," she continues. "I think it's pathetic that my minor lyrical exploration detailing my sometimes submissive or passive roles in my relationships has often made people say I've set women back hundreds of years." 

Noting she's "not not a feminist," Del Rey adds that she feels "there has to be a place in feminism for women who look and act like me -- the kind of woman who says no but men hear yes."

The GRAMMY-nominated singer thinks she has made it possible for today's top female artists to share their true voices. 

"It's been a long 10 years of bulls**t reviewers up until recently and I've learned a lot from them but I also feel it really paved the way for other women to stop 'putting on a happy face' and to just be able to say whatever the hell they wanted to in their music," she writes. 

She also gave fans some exciting news, revealing her new album will be out Sept. 5, adding of her upcoming music, "I'm sure there will be tinges of what I've been pondering." 

In addition to an album, Del Rey is working on two books of poetry in which she says she'll be "detailing some of my feelings." 

As for her personal life, Del Rey was romantically linked to Sean "Sticks" Larkin, a police officer and star of Live PD. The pair split in March after six months of dating. Here's more on her recent breakup.

(This story was originally published Thursday, May 21 at 6:55 a.m. PT.) 

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