As Lana Del Rey releases audio of the title song from her album, Ultraviolence, she's taken the opportunity to sat a few pretty dodgy things about feminism. When asked for her views about the movement, which has gathered pace in the few years since she arrived on the scene with Video Games, she responded: 'For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept… Whenever people bring up feminism, I'm like, "God, I'm just not really that interested."'
So what does pique her curiosity? 'I'm more interested in, you know, SpaceX and Tesla, what's going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities.'
Tell you what, Lana, our intergalactic possibilities are pretty null and void if women aren't given a leg up. How embarrassing is it going to be when we the aliens visit and work out that over half the population of Earth is treated are treated as lesser beings because of what's between their legs?
We totally get how Lana might be bored of being asked 'are you a feminist?', because it's basically the new 'so when are you going to have kids?' Every female celebrity is now asked it in an interview, and you can bet no man other than Pharrell has been asked the same of late.
But then again, so much of Lana's output is about female vulnerability and she clearly addresses issues that are going to get people talking about inequalities between men and women in Ultraviolence. Most prominently, she quotes The Crystals' 1962 song He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss). Way back in 2007, Amy Winehouse said she really liked the song and explained her adoration for it, but admitted it was 'messed up' and never replicated the lyrics in any of her own tracks in the way Lana has.
Lana has also reworked the line to say 'he hurt me and it felt like true love'. It's annoying, because without those sorts of lyrics we'd really like the track – it's a sultry, moody warble-a-long over soaring orchestral violins and pianos.
When asked why she includes violent imagery in her videos, such as her being choked, Lana simply told The Fader: 'I like a little hardcore love.' Which, yeah, plays into imagery of her as an old-school Hollywood siren who needs to be slapped back into consciousness after a hysterical spell. But come on, it's two thousand and bloody fourteen.
The stupid thing is that, despite all of that, Lana's definition of feminism is spot on: 'My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.'
So should Lana include those sort of lyrics in her songs if she feels that way? Hmm… maybe we should ask the aliens.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.