Lana Del Rey has escalated her public feud with rising alt-pop singer Ethel Cain, namechecking her in a new song and accusing her of body shaming. On Wednesday, Del Rey, 40, shared an Instagram video featuring a snippet from her upcoming album, with lyrics referencing Cain: “Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post / Think it’s cute reenacting my Chicago pose.”
The verse appears to refer to a 2024 photo of Cain, 27, with Del Rey’s supposed ex-boyfriend Jack Donoghue, posing similarly to an old picture of Del Rey and Donoghue outside Chicago’s Cook County Jail. The song also includes the line “The most famous girl at the Waffle House,” which fans interpret as a dig at a 2022 New York Times headline about Cain.
Within hours, Cain claimed on Instagram that Del Rey had blocked her. Del Rey then commented on a Pop Base post, alleging that Cain had body-shamed her in the past. “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,” Del Rey wrote.
The Independent has contacted representatives for both artists. Cain rose to fame in 2022 with her debut album Preacher’s Daughter and has often been compared to Del Rey. She recently began a tour supporting her new album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, which received a four-star review from The Independent.
