Courtney Love Calls Taylor Swift 'Not Important,' Slams Lana Del Rey, Beyoncé and Madonna
Shots fired. Courtney Love isn't mincing words when it comes to her take on popular music, slamming a handful of the industry's top performers.
In a new interview with the U.K.'s The Standard, Love has less-than-kind words for some of today's biggest artists including Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Beyoncé and Madonna.
"Taylor is not important," Love says. "She might be a safe space for girls, and she's probably the Madonna of now, but she's not interesting as an artist."
Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Taylor Swift attend the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Concert Movie World Premiere at AMC The Grove 14 on Oct. 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
As for Del Rey, Love explains that she once was a fan of the Coachella headliner.
"I haven't liked Lana since she covered a John Denver song, and I think she should really take seven years off," Love declares. "Up until 'Take Me Home Country Roads' I thought she was great. When I was recording my new album, I had to stop listening to her as she was influencing me too much."
Love says that it's "great" to see "so many successful women in the music industry," but believes "lots of them are becoming a cliché."
"Now, every successful woman is cloned, so there's just too much music. They're all the same," she tells the outlet. "If you play something on Spotify, you get bombarded with a lot of stuff that's exactly the same."
As for Beyoncé's new country-inspired offering, Cowboy Carter,Love offers a backhanded remark.
"I like the idea of Beyoncé doing a country record because it's about Black women going into spaces where previously only white women have been allowed, not that I like it much," she says. "As a concept, I love it. I just don't like her music."
When it comes to Madonna, the dig seems a bit more personal.
"I don't like her, and she doesn't like me," Love declares.
Courtney Love attends The National Portrait Gallery's Portrait Gala on March 19, 2024 in London, England.
Love rose to fame in the '90s as the lead singer of the alternative band, Hole. The California-based group released a trio of albums -- Pretty on the Inside, Live Through This and Celebrity Skin -- spanning 1991-1998. Love offered a solo project, America's Sweetheart, in 2004, before reuniting with the band for the 2010 album, Nobody's Daughter. Hole has been nominated for four GRAMMY Awards, but never won.
"People used to say that I was difficult," Love tells The Standard. "They said I was disagreeable. Yes, I am completely disagreeable and I'm never going to apologize for that. I always wanted to be known as a b**ch. Being liked was never my thing."
Today, Love is plugging her new BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Sounds series Courtney Love's Women. The eight-part program serves as a soundtrack highlighting the women in music that have influenced her, peppered with stories and anecdotes from her colorful life. Among those artists who have received Love's stamp of approval are Patti Smith, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell and Deborah Harry, to name a few.
"I'm trying to redeem some of the women who have been treated so badly by the record industry," she says. "That’s all."
Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) of Nirvana poses with his wife Courtney Love of Hole and child Frances Bean Cobain as they attend the 10th Annual MTV Video Music Awards on September 2, 1993 at the Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.
In her personal life, Love is known for her marriage to Nirvana rocker Kurt Cobain. The couple wed in 1992 and welcomed their daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, later that year.
Kurt was found dead in his Seattle, Washington, home on April 5, 1994, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at just 27 years old.
In August 2022, Frances reflected on her milestone 30th birthday.
"Entering this new decade I hope to stay soft no matter how hardening the world can feel at times, bask in the present moment with reverence, shower the people I am lucky enough to love with more appreciation than words could ever do justice & hold space to keep learning, so the growth never stops," she wrote on Instagram. "I’m happy to be here & I’m happy you’re here too. ❤️🔥 ☀️ 🦋"
Frances Bean Cobain
The following year, she tied the knot with professional skateboarder Riley Hawk -- the son of skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Frances' godfather, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, officiated the ceremony.
Back in 2018, Frances opened up to ET about her perspective on making her own mark in the world of music and art.
"Sharing with the world, that's part of the contract you sign in being an artist is that you send it off and people do with it what they will," she said. "And I think that's such a cool process. "
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