Singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey has said she is no longer “comfortable” giving live performances of her 2012 “Cola,” which she has admitted on multiple occasions was inspired by now-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
In a backstage interview posted Wednesday by MTV News, Del Rey said she “definitely” plans to retire the song, adding, “That would be the only right thing to do.”
Del Rey (whose birth name is Elizabeth Grant) knows Weinstein and has been pictured with him on multiple occasions. She also wrote two songs for the 2014 Oscar-contender “Big Eyes,” which was produced by The Weinstein Company.
But since Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women and lost both his job as CEO of The Weinstein Company and his membership in Hollywood organizations such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Del Rey said she has taken a different view of “Cola.”
“When I wrote that song, I suppose I had a Harvey Weinstein/Harry Winston-type of character in mind,” she told MTV News.
“I envisioned, like, a benevolent, diamond-bestowing-upon-starlets visual, like a Citizen Kane or something,” she added. “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.”
As for “Cola,” some of the lyrics include: “I got sweet taste for men who are older / It’s always been, so it’s no surprise / Ah, he’s in the sky with diamonds / And he’s making me crazy / I come alive, alive / All he wants to do is party with his pretty baby … I know your wife, and she wouldn’t mind”
Weinstein is currently under criminal investigations by police in London, New York, Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. His attorneys have denied claims that he engaged in nonconsensual sex and he has not been charged with any crimes.