Lana Del Rey won’t perform her 2012 song “Cola” during her world tour — LA to the Moon — that starts in January. Del Rey thought “Cola” and its lyrics were funny when she wrote it, but in the aftermath of the storm of accusations against Harvey Weinstein, Del Rey doesn’t see the humor anymore. Del Rey wrote the song with a Harvey Weinstein-type player in mind, a “diamond-bestowing-upon-starlets” guy with power. “I thought it was funny at the time, and I obviously find it really sad now,” Del Rey told MTV.
Del Rey’s decision to drop “Cola” is significant because it signals another level of the fight for equality in a Hollywood culture polluted with “toxic masculinity.” Del Rey isn’t someone coming forward and accusing a high-powered male of sexual misconduct; instead she’s an artist who has previously given the “toxic masculinity” culture a pass. She thought it was harmless enough, apparently, to include it jokingly in her song — understandable since her song was an accurate representation of the culture she was exposed to. But now by withdrawing “Cola” from her repertoire, Del Rey draws a different line in the sand than the courageous line already being drawn by the thousands of women who have joined the “Me Too” campaign to bring malignant male conduct to light. What Del Ray is saying is let’s stop this before it even gets this far. Let’s not joke about it anymore. Let’s not make fun of it. Let’s stop sooner. Because obviously it’s a slippery slope. And if a man predisposed to “toxic behavior” thinks it’s funny and okay — or just “the way it is” — then there will be no check on actual behavior. Del Rey recognizes this: that if the environment permits a sexually aggressive joke, then a grope — and worse — can’t be far behind. Del Ray is saying it’s not funny anymore. None of it.
Lana Del Rey reveals why she’s cutting “Cola” from her live shows: https://t.co/m5rICjKGqb pic.twitter.com/6DVUgZIK0b
— MTV (@MTV) November 1, 2017
