Dua Lipa says she was surprised by backlash to strip club visit with Lizzo

Pop star said she believes in supporting women ‘in all fields of work’ and ‘everyone was just dancing and having fun’

Roisin O'Connor
Friday 03 April 2020 09:34 BST
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Dua Lipa says social media is a 'breeding ground for hate'

Dua Lipa has responded to the somewhat hysterical reaction that followed footage of her, Lizzo, Rosalía and Lil Nas X enjoying a visit to an LA stripclub.

The trip took place after the 2020 Grammy Awards and swiftly became the subject of an internet backlash.

While the pop star, who recently released her second album Future Nostalgia, did not comment at the time, she has addressed the furore in an interview with The Guardian.

“I don’t like to apologise if I don’t believe I should be apologising for something,” she began, revealing she was surprised by the response.

“I believe in supporting women in all fields of work. Nothing at that party was derogatory; everyone was just dancing and having fun.”

“That’s something we all have to work on,” she continued. "Not every sex worker is being forced to do something they don’t wanna do.

"I think a lot of the women found it really empowering and really like to dance.”​

In another recent interview, Lipa condemned the normalisation of toxic male behaviour and said she hoped her song "Boys Will Be Boys", a track about gender stereotypes from her new album, would spark a conversation about what needs to change in society.

The Independent gave Lipa's album five stars, with critic Helen Brown writing: "Her sensational second album channels the zingy, electro-ambitions of the 1980s with remarkable freshness, given that the decade’s revival has now lasted about twice as long as the original period.

"Her nods to Madonna, Olivia Newton John, Prince, Debbie Harry and Nile Rodgers are direct and unblinking – mercifully free from the raised eyebrow of irony so often used to give retro sounds a modern topspin."

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