Lana Del Rey’s got trolled hard this weekend — first by the U.S. Army (yes, the army that consists of the brave men and women who fight to defend this country) and then by rapper Pusha T.
Pusha T, real name Terrence LeVarr Thornton, excited fans but also left them scratching their heads after he shared a photo of Lana covered by a white powdery substance.
Over the weekend, the 44-year-old shared a Lust for Life-era snapshot of the “Summertime Sadness” singer with what appears to be cocaine covering her face. He also shared a clip of himself rapping, possibly signaling new music to come.
The rapper’s famous pals and followers lit up his comment section with praise. “Sound like that [fire emoji],” legendary producer Jermaine Dupri wrote, while actor Thomas Q. Jones commented, “Yezzir! King Push!”
See the mysterious photo below, via Instagram:
Content warning below // substance use
Although many were excited about the possibility of new music, many wondered WTF the seemingly coke-covered Lana Del Rey photo was supposed to mean.
Either Pusha T is a fan of the singer, the two have collaborated on a new song, or he’s just trolling her. (The singer is known for glamorizing the use of cocaine in such songs as “Florida Kilos” and “High by the Beach.”)
Either way, an entire Reddit thread has been created to try and decipher what the image means.
Appropriately titled “Pusha T Just Posted This! Thoughts?,” the thread contains many opinions and theories about the intention behind the curious photo of Lana.
“Imagine this is his next album cover,” one user ponders, while another writes: “I’m so confused as well! Like is she on his new album, or is he just snorting coke on a pic of her.”
“Don’t think it’s just random. He’s a pretty calculated artist,” a third comments, while yet another jokingly (well, hopefully it’s a joke and not just naïve) weighs in: “He must be baking cookies, looks like some flour spilled on Lana’s face.”
Lana Del Rey also unknowingly riled up a few people after the U.S. Army shared a tweet quoting the “Young and Beautiful” singer on Jan. 22.
“‘Being brave means knowing that when you fail, you don’t fail forever.’ – Lana Del Rey,” the Army tweeted Saturday alongside a photo of a woman crawling under barbed wire with the hashtag #SoldierSaturday.
The tweet was met with some criticism, with many wondering why the Army would quote Lana and not someone with a history of serving in the military.
“Why are you quoting Lana Del Ray [sic] and not Julius Caesar or George Washington?” a Twitter user asked, while another commented: “Y’all wild for doing Lana Del Rey into military propaganda.”
“Was Taylor Swift unavailable for a quote?” a third joked, while a fourth hilariously wrote: “Don’t even try it, Lana Del Rey fans are too sad and pretty to join the army.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with drug and/or alcohol dependence, help is available through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website. To speak to someone on the phone, dial 1-800-622-HELP (1-800-622-4357) or send a text message to 1-800-487-4889.