Lorde apologizes for posting bathtub photo with Whitney Houston lyrics

Lorde’s plan to enjoy a relaxing bath didn’t end well. The “Green Light” singer, 21, came under fire on Thursday, April 5, after posting a photo of a bathtub on Instagram with Whitney Houston lyrics as the caption.

“And iiii will always love you,” she captioned the since-deleted post, using a line from “I Will Always Love You.” The song was originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973, but it was made famous by Houston when she covered it for The Bodyguard soundtrack in 1992.

The caption was particularly controversial because Houston died at age 48 in February 2012 after accidentally drowning in a bathtub. Heart disease and longtime cocaine abuse were also contributing factors in her death. In January 2015, the music icon’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was similarly found unresponsive in a bathtub at her home in Georgia. The 22-year-old remained in a coma for nearly six months until she died of lobar pneumonia that July.

Lorde’s Instagram followers were quick to call her out for her post. “Delete this,” one fan commented. Another wrote, “Lorde relaxing in her tub not knowing her entire comment section telling her to delete.”

Not long after, the “Royals” singer (real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor) listened to her fans and took down the post. She then issued an apology in her Instagram Story, writing, “Extremely extremely poorly chosen quote. I’m so sorry for offending anyone – I hadn’t even put this together I was just excited to take a bath.”

She continued, “I’m an idiot. Love Whitney forever and ever. Sorry again. IT IS NOT MY FKN DAY TODAY.”