Taylor Swift‘s The Life of a Showgirl album has already brought in record sales, but some pop culture fans still argue about her artistry and talent. One of the wild discussions taking place on one corner of the internet is about how Swift is obsessed with Lana Del Rey. We might have heard the latter’s feud with Ethel Cain, but fans argue that Swift, too, tried to mimic Del Rey’s music & style.
There are several allegations and even claims of proof that some fans presented about Swift’s alleged insecurity over Del Rey’s career. Interestingly, Swift and Del Rey have publicly only shown love for each other. When Del Rey was once asked why The Fate of Ophelia singer was so famous, she said to the BBC:
She wants it. She’s told me so many times that she wants it more than anyone. And how amazing — she’s getting exactly what she wants.
Swift, for her part, previously shared about Del Rey, “I just think she’s the best that we have” (via PEOPLE). They also collaborated on Swift’s song, Snow on the Beach. However, many fans believe that the Anti-Hero singer’s love for Del Rey is fake. Here are the many allegations against Swift on the Lana Del Rey front.
1. Taylor Swift Allegedly Copied Many of Lana Del Rey’s Songs
The list of songs that some fans think Taylor Swift ripped off from Lana Del Rey seemingly makes it look like they are reaching. The Instagram page, @udtunhinghed.58, which claims to be a critique page, has posted several reels on the alleged Swift vs Del Rey beef.
In one of the videos, the page claimed that Swift hacked into Del Rey’s computer and leaked many of her songs in 2012. It was claimed that Swift was behind the leaks of her songs from her EP Paradise. The page claimed that Swift copied Del Rey’s songs from the hit album Born to Die in her song The Lucky One from the album Red.
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It was alleged that Swift took a dig at Del Rey in the song when she sang, “New to town with a made-up name.” Del Rey’s real name was Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. She also sang in the song, “So overnight, you look like a ’60s queen,” which they claimed referred to Del Rey. Some of the lyrical similarities pointed out by the fan included:
One Reddit post claimed that Swift’s song Fortnight from the album The Tortured Poets Department took a dig at Del Rey’s personal life. The lyric in the song, “I was supposed to be sent away. But they forgot to come and get me. I was a functioning alcoholic,” allegedly referred to Del Rey.
According to the commenter, she was institutionalized, sent out of state, and even dealt with alcoholism as a teenager. They accused Swift of minimizing Del Rey’s personal experiences.
Some fans claimed that the aesthetic of The Tortured Poets Department album was very similar to Del Rey’s Ultraviolence. They also noted how TTPD‘s opening lines were similar to Del Rey’s Mariners Apartment Complex. Swift’s lyrics read, “You left your typewriter at my apartment Straight from the Tortured Poets Department,” while Del Rey’s read, “You took my sadness out of context At the Mariners Apartment Complex.”
2. Taylor Swift Allegedly Stole Lana Del Rey’s Persona
@udtunhinghed.58’s Insta page also claimed that when Lana Del Rey entered the music scene, she wasn’t just a new girl but also ahead of the trends in pop culture. The content creator claimed that Swift was still in her pretty princess era during this time, which the page called “childish.”
They went on to claim that the Elizabeth Taylor singer was insecure about her “replaceable” status, even providing one of her interview quotes as proof. Swift shared during a CBS interview,
Those were the times where I didn’t feel good enough. My life doesn’t gravitate towards edgy, sexy or cool. I just naturally am not any of these things.
While the context of this quote was very different, the page used it to paint a picture of Swift’s alleged insecurity. It was alleged that Swift changed her style to match Del Rey. During the release of her album, Red, she allegedly ditched her girly cursive font for a much bolder block lettering.
It was alleged that she copied Del Rey’s font style, but it wasn’t the only style that she copied from the Summertime Sadness singer. According to the Insta page, Swift stole Del Rey’s signature heart glasses, vintage clothing, and grainy filmmaking style during this time.
It was even alleged that Swift stole Del Rey’s best friend, Jaime King. The Hollywood actress and model appeared in Del Rey’s music video for Summertime Sadness. Del Rey was even part of the birth of King’s first child in October 2013. By January 2014, King was seen hanging out with Swift at a Golden Globes party. King allegedly became close to Swift, and the singer became the godmother to King’s second child.
3. Taylor Swift’s I Knew You Were Trouble vs Lana Del Rey’s Ride Controversy
Taylor Swift hired Anthony Mandler, who directed the music video for Lana Del Rey’s Ride, for her song I Knew You Were Trouble the same year. She also brought in Reeve Carney, who was allegedly Del Rey’s ex, as an actor for the music video of her song.
It was alleged that Swift made a calculated move to outshine Ride with these creative decisions. At the MTV VMAs 2013, Swift’s music video won an award while Del Rey’s video song was overlooked. It was alleged that Swift thanking Mandler and Carney during her acceptance speech was a dig at Del Rey.
The narrator also brought up how Del Rey had to announce Taylor Swift as a winner during the EMA awards function at Frankfurt in 2013.
4. Taylor Swift’s Snow on the Beach Controversy
Taylor Swift’s song Snow on the Beach from her album Midnights caused a controversy. Lana Del Rey was featured as a singer on the track; however, she was barely heard throughout the song. Critics complained that Del Rey’s contribution to the track felt underwhelming. Swift later released an updated version, titled Snow on the Beach (Feat. More Lana Del Rey).
In this second version, Del Rey sang the entire second verse of the song, instead of serving as a mere background singer. Fans claimed that Swift did the first song on purpose to insult the singer. However, Del Rey cleared the air surrounding the controversy during an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. She shared that she was “all over the first version of ‘Snow on the Beach.’” She said,
“I had no idea I was the only feature [on that song]. Had I known, I would have sung the entire second verse like she wanted.
Del Rey further shared, “She was very adamant that she wanted me to be on the album, and I really liked that song.”
5. Lana Del Rey Allegedly Called Out Taylor Swift in a Song
The Insta fan shared that Lana Del Rey allegedly called out Taylor Swift in her song F**ked My Way Up to the Top from her album Ultraviolence. She sang in her lyrics:
I’m a dragon, you’re a wh*re
Don’t even know what you’re good for
Mimicking me is a f**king bore to me
The fan alleged that it was a dig at Swift and her several ex-boyfriends. More recently, fans alleged that Del Rey shaded Swift when she announced her new song release on Instagram in August. She shared in the captions of her post, “Track 13 @jackantonoff.” She dropped the tease on the same day that Swift released the cover art of The Life of a Showgirl. One fan claimed on X:
Lana teasing track 13 of her album and tagging co writer jack antonoff is lowkey Taylor shade because obviously Taylor announced her album covers and track list and didn’t work with jack on this album at all so here Lana goes being all messy.
However, none of the involved parties commented on the controversy at the time. Interestingly, she dissed Ethel Cain in the track, singing, “Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post/ Think it’s cute re-enacting my Chicago pose.” The song is called All About Ethel.
What do you think of these alleged issues between Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift? Let us know in the comments below!
