In a recent interview with The Guardian, Lorde opened up about her friendship with Taylor Swift and made a comment that was just not okay.
Lorde, who has popped back up on the radar due to the release of her second album, Melodrama, was asked about the pressures of dealing with a star-studded circle of pals, specifically Taylor. Lorde responded, “It’s like having a friend with very specific allergies. There are certain places you can’t go together. Certain things you can’t do. There are these different sets of considerations within the friendship. It’s like having a friend with an autoimmune disease.”
Taylor and Lorde have been good friends since 2014, a year they spent supporting each other at the Grammys and posting Instagram pictures of their cooking, going to the beach and traveling around New York together.
Followers and fans immediately lashed out on social media.
hey @lorde I’ve got an autoimmune disease where’s all my billions of dollars, manhattan apapartment and teams of crack lawyers at? #wtf ????
— Kate Winifred (@Kwgreenaway) June 19, 2017
Lorde let me please sit you down and explain what an autoimmune disease is https://t.co/xo3rqF9yLz
— liz (@sparksflytori) June 19, 2017
One Twitter user, Stephanie Anderson, brought up the fact that another of Taylor’s friends, Selena Gomez, struggles with lupus, an autoimmune disease. “I wonder how @selenagomez feels about this,” Anderson wrote. “What an incredibly ignorant analogy to make @lorde.”
I wonder how @selenagomez feels about this. What an incredibly ignorant analogy to make @lorde. pic.twitter.com/McbWd058DW
— Stephanie Marie (@stefinitely85) June 19, 2017
Lorde saw Anderson’s tweet and apologized for her insensitivity. “didn’t mention taylor, but regardless, i fucked up & that was really insensitive. i’m sorry,” she tweeted.
didn’t mention taylor, but regardless, i fucked up & that was really insensitive. i’m sorry
— Lorde (@lorde) June 20, 2017
Through all of this, we realize that no matter what Lorde’s intention was with the analogy, words do matter—and it really is important to think before you speak.