Lana Del Rey Will No Longer Play ‘Cola’ At Shows Because Harvey Weinstein
"That would be the only right thing to do."
Lana Del Rey has announced she’ll be retiring her 2012 track ‘Cola’ from her live sets following criticism of the song in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
The pop star face criticism in recent weeks over a series of lyrics within the song, which appear to directly reference Weinstein: “Harvey’s in the sky with diamonds and he’s making me crazy / All he wants to do is party with his pretty baby.”
There were a few other lines in the song that could be read as implicating Weinstein too, namely: “I got sweet taste for men who’re older / It’s always been so it’s no surprise” and “I know your wife and she wouldn’t mind.”
In a new interview with MTV , Del Rey stated she would no longer play the song, and confirmed she did indeed write the song with “a Harvey Weinstein/Harry Winston-type of character in mind.”
“I envisioned, like, a benevolent, diamond-bestowing-upon-starlets visual, like a Citizen Kane or something,” she told MTV. “I’m not really sure. I thought it was funny at the time, and I obviously find it really sad now. I support the women who have come forward. I think they’re really brave for doing that.”
When questioned about whether she would retire the song from her sets, she replied: “Definitely. That would be the only right thing to do.”
The theory is that Del Rey wrote ‘Cola’ after she “rebuffed” Weinstein a number of years ago. Allegedly, Weinstein heard the line and “went bananas” — and so the official lyrics, which appear in the album lyric book, had to be changed to “Ah he’s in the sky”. However, if you look at a bunch of lyric sites, you can see it hasn’t been changed from “Harvey”.
Of course, you probably remember ‘Cola’ more for its infamous opening line: “My pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola.”
Del Rey will be in Australia next March to tour her latest album, Lust For Life, playing shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. It will be the New York singer’s first Australian tour since 2012, when she headlined Splendour in the Grass and played two sideshows just after the release of her debut album Born To Die. Tickets are on sale now.