What Happened Between Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey? The Complete Story Behind Their 2025 Feud
The unexpected feud between Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey has shocked fans, sparking a rare and dramatic social media clash in the indie music world. Here, we can share the full details about What Happened Between Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey and their Past Tensions, as well as what happens next. Scroll down and get all the information about the Why This Feud Matters in 2025:
The Instagram Post That Started Everything
On August 13, 2025, Lana Del Rey dropped a bombshell on her Instagram that nobody saw coming. She shared a snippet of her upcoming track 13 from her yet-to-be-titled album (formerly called "The Right Person Will Stay"), and the opening lyrics immediately sent shockwaves through social media. Here is a post shared on her Instagram @honeymoon about track 13:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNUcpEyxaut/?
Ethel Cain Data (@ethelcaindata) posted on Twitter that Lana Del Rey has shared a snippet of new music in which she references Ethel Cain, including the line: “Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post.”
The song, produced by Jack Antonoff and officially titled "All About Ethel," opens with the pointed line about Ethel Cain hating her Instagram post. The timing couldn't have been more dramatic - within hours of the snippet going live, fans discovered that Del Rey had blocked Cain on Instagram, with Ethel herself confirming this through her own Instagram story on August 14th. Below is an official Instagram story shared by a mothercain on Instagram:
The Jack Donoghue Connection: Where Things Get Complicated
To understand what transpired between Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey, you need to know about Jack Donoghue. The Salem member and producer dated Lana back in 2022, with the couple famously posting photos together outside Chicago's Cook County Jail that July. Here's where it gets interesting - Cain was also linked to Donoghue around the same time, though she's denied they were romantically involved.
The "Chicago pose" mentioned in Lana's new song appears to reference these specific photos. Fans quickly connected the dots when similar images of Cain with Donoghue surfaced from 2021, showing them in nearly identical poses. The overlap in their social circles and romantic connections seems to be at the heart of this conflict.
Past Tensions and Social Media Shade
The relationship between these two artists has been complicated for years. Back when fans would comment things like "Lana Del Rey walked so Ethel Cain could run," Cain responded with some pretty bold statements on social media. She once wrote, "I pushed her over when I ran past," and made another comment about Lana never catching up to her in her Macy's dress."
These weren't isolated incidents either. Cain has made multiple posts over the years expressing frustration about constant comparisons to Del Rey, including one Tumblr post where she mentioned being compared to "the lady" until the day she dies. While Cain has covered Lana's songs like "Born to Die" and drawn inspiration from her work, there's always been this underlying tension about living in her shadow.
The Waffle House Reference Explained
One of the most intriguing parts of Lana's diss track includes the lyric about being "the most famous girl at the Waffle House." This is a direct reference to a New York Times article from May 2022 titled "Ethel Cain Is the Most Famous Person at the Waffle House," which profiled the rising star.
In what feels like a calculated response, Lana herself was spotted working at a Waffle House in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2023, serving coffee to customers. The inclusion of this reference in the song suggests Del Rey hasn't forgotten any of these moments - she's been keeping receipts.
Why This Feud Matters in 2025
The conflict between Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey represents something bigger than just personal drama. Both artists operate in similar sonic territories - dreamy, gothic Americana with heavy emotional themes. Cain, who's been called an "American gothic Lana Del Rey" by publications like Pitchfork, has built her career partly on comparisons to the established star.
For context, Ethel Cain (real name Hayden Silas Anhedönia) is a trans singer-songwriter who made history as the first trans woman with a Billboard Top 10 album. She's modeled for Miu Miu and Givenchy, and even Barack Obama is reportedly a fan. Her rise has been meteoric, making Forbes' 30 under 30 list last year.
What Happens Next?
As of August 14, 2025, neither artist has made an official statement beyond the song snippet. The track "All About Ethel" is set to be the thirteenth song on Lana's upcoming tenth studio album, though no official release date has been confirmed yet.
Industry insiders are watching this closely because it's rare to see such confrontation in indie music. Some fans speculate this could be an elaborate promotion for both artists' upcoming projects - Cain recently released her album "Willoughby Tucker" while Del Rey's album is expected sometime in 2025. However, the personal nature of the lyrics and the actual Instagram block suggest this beef is very real.
