If you thought 2025 couldn’t get more chaotic, welcome to the pop culture apocalypse. Last month, Tyler, The Creator unfollowed Frank Ocean. SZA and Nicki Minaj went back and forth on social media, and now, it looks like Lana Del Rey and Ethel Cain are this summer’s answer to Drake and Kendrick.
The tension exploded after Lana posted a snippet of a new Jack Antonoff-produced track from her upcoming 10th studio album. The now-viral clip features the line, “Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post, think it’s cute reenacting my Chicago pose.”
And just like that, the internet started taking sides. Back in 2022, Lana had posted a photo with then-boyfriend Jack Donoghue outside Chicago’s Cook County Jail. Not long after, Cain uploaded a similar pic with Donoghue, captioned “ok wait my turn," before deleting it.
While the Donoghue overlap sparked some side-eyes, Lana has made it clear this goes deeper. Hours after the snippet went up, Ethel Cain posted an Instagram story with a short update, “Lana Del Rey has blocked Ethel Cain on Instagram.”
But that was only the beginning:
Lana opened up on social media. “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, I was confused at what she was getting at.”
She continued, “Then 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.”
Some fans believe the track in question is called 'All About Ethel,' an unreleased song from 2022 that's finally resurfacing. One lyric that really turned heads was, “The most famous girl at the Waffle House / I don’t regret it.”
That line seems to be a reference to Cain’s 2022 New York Times profile, 'The Most Famous Girl at the Waffle House.' It’s also a subtle nod to Lana’s own viral Waffle House moment in 2023, when she was spotted working there for a day, later revealing the gig was spontaneous and the staff had gifted her a uniform shirt.
Cain’s admiration for Lana hasn’t always been mutual. While she’s covered 'Born To Die' and cited Lana as an influence, her online behavior has raised eyebrows. When one fan tweeted, “Lana Del Rey walked so Ethel Cain could run,” Cain replied, “I pushed her over when I ran past.” And in another jab, she added, “She’ll never catch up to me in her Macy’s dress.”
Is Nicki Minaj taking sides?
But just when you thought the drama was peaking, Nicki Minaj swooped in with unexpected praise for Lana, and the diss track that sparked it all.
“Lana can say anything and it sounds so dope… I’ve wanted to say [Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post] since the moment I heard it. I don’t know what they put in that song," she shared on X, before sharing a clip singing her own version of the snippet.
“I’ve been singing ‘Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post’ all morning. Help!!!!!" she continued. "How can a melody & instruments & background vocals & the mixing be so good that I’m walking around all day talking about a person named Ethel who I do not know hating an Instagram post I never even posted? HELP MEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!”
In a separate tweet, she added, “Now I see how ppl can discover an artist years & years into their career then go back & listen to their entire discography & become a die hard fan.”
“I don’t know Ethel Cain, Ethel Cain is probably a really dope person, but the way that line is able to transform me into wanting to know who Ethel Cain [is] and know more about Lana’s discography," Nicki concluded.