In today’s edition of “two artists on my Spotify Wrapped are actually beefing IRL,” it looks like there’s some tension between alt-pop’s finest, Lana Del Rey and Ethel Cain. While Ethel has been compared to LDR ever since she started posting covers and demos online in 2017, the pair recently got into a tiff online, thanks to Lana soft-launching a new song.
It all began on August 13, when Lana posted a video of herself in a car listening to a track where she name-drops Ethel in the first few lyrics. When fans responded with (understandable) confusion, the “Born to Die” singer then alleged that Ethel had previously body-shamed her—hence the diss track.
If you’re one of those said confused fans wondering how we even got here in the first place, allow me to break down Lana Del Rey and Ethel Cain’s drama (for educational purposes, obvi).
Once upon a time, Ethel Cain was a big Lana Del Rey fan
Ethel—whose real name is Hayden Silas Anhedönia—has been chronically online for a greater part of the last decade. According to a social media post, she listed Lana as one of her favorite artists on her DeviantArt profile in 2015.
She also started posting her music online in 2017, including a cover of Lana’s hit, “Born to Die.”
She grew frustrated with the constant comparisons to Lana
Ethel started gaining an audience for her music, which she released under several different monikers until she officially became Ethel Cain in 2019. Lana comparisons came from critics and fans alike, and Ethel eventually started posting about her frustration with it.
In a since-deleted 2022 tweet (per i-D), she clapped back at a review that likened her to the “Ride” singer, writing, “I love Lana and I love her music but there’s a hundred other things at play here. If that’s an entry way for a review, that’s fine. But sometimes people arrive at Lana Del Rey and stop at Lana Del Rey.”
She also defended her and Lana’s artistic differences, adding, “And yeah I called it lazy writing because it’s lazy for me and her. I think it’s kind of a detriment to the expansive work of two female artists to just reduce them to being similar to each other.”
Enter: Jack Donoghue
Okay, so here’s where things get a little tricky. In 2022, Lana started dating musician Jack Donoghue of the hip-hop duo Salem, and she hard-launched their relationship with a photo outside of Cook County Jail, which has since been deleted.
Meanwhile, Ethel once had a close friendship with Jack, and she was even rumored to be dating him after his relationship with LDR. She reportedly posted a similar photo to Lana’s and poked fun at it with the caption “ok wait my turn.” Of course, it has also been deleted.
The Waffle House of it all
In May 2022, Ethel was profiled by The New York Times, where she’s referred to as “the most famous girl at the Waffle House” in the headline.
Lana then made headlines in July 2023 after word got around that she was moonlighting as a waitress at the breakfast establishment in Alabama. Iiiiinteresting connection here.
That brings us to Lana’s recent Instagram post, where she teased an Ethel diss track
Or, at least, what seems to be an Ethel diss track. On August 13, Lana posted a clip of herself listening to one of her unreleased songs in a car, which happened to name-drop Ethel in its lyrics. She sings, “Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post / Think it’s cute reenacting my Chicago pose,” which might allude to both of their pics with Jack Donoghue.
In another lyric, she directly references Ethel’s New York Times headline as she sings, “The most famous girl at the Waffle House / I don’t regret it.”
Lana also alleged that she was body-shamed by Ethel in a comment under Pop Base’s post reporting on her unreleased snippet.
“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,” she wrote, in part.
Shortly after, Ethel revealed that she had been blocked by Lana in a post on her Instagram Stories.
“Update: lana del rey has blocked ethel cain on instagram,” she wrote.
Fans also think Lana’s post could be Taylor Swift shade
While LDR’s song may be pointed at Ethel, fans theorized it could also be counted as shade toward her “Snow on the Beach” collaborator, Taylor Swift. “Track 13 @jackantonoff,” Lana captioned the post, hinting that the song would be on her upcoming album, The Right Person Will Stay.
Of course, 13 famously happens to be Taylor’s favorite number. Both artists have worked with Jack Antonoff extensively throughout their careers, and the Grammy-winning producer is noticeably absent from Taylor’s The Life of a Showgirl album credits, since she teamed up with Max Martin and Shellback on the project.
Lana, Taylor, and Jack at the Grammys in 2024.
It’s unclear whether she, Jack, and Lana had a falling out or if Lana is remaining loyal to her longtime producer, but the timing of LDR’s post is…interesting, considering Taylor’s album announcement on the New Heights podcast took place mere hours earlier.
TL;DR: Some of this evidence is compelling, but most of it feels like a reach.
