Another day in celeb world, another feud. This time, the drama is brewing between Ethel Cain and Lana Del Ray. While it's no secret that Ethel has been compared to Lana several times, drama escalated between the pair this week thanks to the lyrics of Lana's new song.
It kicked off when Lana posted an Instagram video which showed her in a car, listening to a segment of a song from her upcoming album, with the lyrics 'Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post / Think it’s cute reenacting my Chicago pose.'
What post is Lana Del Rey referring to in her song about Ethel Cain?
People were quick to deduce that the lyric seems to reference a picture from 2024 of Cain with Jack Donoghue - Del Ray's supposed ex-boyfriend, in front of a dam. Ethel had a close friendship with Jack, and some reports even suggested she dated him after his relationship with Lana.
What's more, the 2024 image was strikingly similar to a previous photo of Del Rey and Donoghue outside Chicago’s Cook County Jail.
In the song, Rey's lyrics also say 'The most famous girl at the Waffle House/ I don’t regret it/ The most famous girl at the Waffle House.' In a 2022 profile in The New York Times, Cain was dubbed 'The Most Famous Girl at the Waffle House' - leading many people to think Ray is throwing further shade at her here. The lyric also references Lana's own viral 2023 moment, when she was spotted working a shift at a Waffle House in Alabama.
Did Ethel Cain body shame Lana Del Rey?
Things escalated even further when Pop Pass shared a post reporting on the unreleased segment of the song, Lara also alleged that Ethel body-shamed her in a comment. 'I don’t know who Ethel was until a few years ago – when someone brought to my attention the disturbing and graphic side-by-side images she would often put up of me next to unflattering creatures and cartoon characters making constant comments about my weight, I was confused at what she was getting at,' she wrote. 'Then when I heard what she was saying behind closed doors from mutual friends and started inserting herself into my personal life I was definitely disturbed.' Shortly after, Cain shared on her Instagram stories that Lana had blocked her on the platform.
Ethel has not responded to Lana's claims.
Was Ethel Cain a fan of Lana Del Rey?
The links between Ethel and Lana go a long way back. According to reports, Ethel used to be a Lana Del Ray fan, and even posted a cover of her track, born to die, online in 2017. However, in time Ethel reportedly grew frustrated with the comparisons between her and Lana. According to Dazed, she once replied to a fan who compared the two of them by saying 'I pushed her over when I ran past' and 'She’ll never catch up to me in her Macy’s dress.'
Neither Lana or Ethel have released public statements about the feud. As for how the fed between these two indie stars will play out online (and on Spotify)? Watch this space.
Alice Hall is the Staff Writer at Grazia UK. At Grazia, she writes news and features about pop culture, health, politics and interiors.