Lana Del Rey fans are confused by her Judah Smith Interlude and the memes are hilarious

24 March 2023, 14:43

Lana Del Rey opens up about upcoming spoken word album

By Sam Prance

Who is Judah Smith? The controversial Hillsong preacher has a surprising spot on Lana Del Rey's new album.

Lana Del Rey's new album includes an interlude with Hillsong preacher Judah Smith and it's inspired the funniest memes.

Lana Del Rey is no stranger to challenging the typical constraints of pop music. Over the course of her career to date, Lana has repeatedly bucked radio trends and stayed true to her singular artistry. In recent years, Lana has released everything from spoken word poetry albums (Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass) to epic 9 minute long songs ('Venice Bitch').

READ MORE: Lana Del Rey explains the emotional meaning behind her Kintsugi lyrics

However, Lana has shocked fans with a track on her new album Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. 'Judah Smith Interlude' is almost fives minutes of controversial preacher Judah Smith essentially shouting in a sermon. Reactions to the track so far range from bewilderment to upset and the memes about it are hilariously savage.

What is Judah Smith Interlude about?

Judah Smith is a preacher of the controversial megachurch Hillsong and a close friend of Justin Bieber. In recent years, he's been criticised for being more of an influencer than a preacher. 'Judah Smith Interlude' includes an excerpt of a real Judah Smith sermon in which he preaches against lust, infidelity and envy and promotes the importance of the Bible.

During the interlude, Judah shouts: "'I don't understand what that means' / It means quit lusting after your neighbor' and 'Help me, God / I wanna be a man in love, not a man in lust'". Elsewhere, he says: "I woke up this morning and God said, 'Check the Bible'".

Hillsong, where Judah works, has also been criticised repeatedly for being homophobic.

Lana Del Rey - Judah Smith Interlude (Audio)

Taking into consideration the fact that Lana has many LGBTQ+ fans with complex relationships to the church, the new interlude has sparked a wide variety of responses including some very savage memes.

Many fans joked that they will be skipping the track. Another fan wrote: "You gotta be a whole other level of gay and religiously traumatised to sit through and enjoy all 4 and a half minutes of this shit".

As it stands, Lana is yet to explain her intent in putting the Judah Smith interlude on her album nor the meaning behind it. It's also unclear if Lana goes to Judah's church. We shall update you if she says anything.

What do you think of Lana's 'Judah Smith Interlude'?

Read more Lana Del Rey news here:

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• Lana Del Rey's new boyfriend Jack Donoghue made out with his cousin and his dog
• Lana Del Rey regrets not doing a full verse on Taylor Swift's 'Snow at the Beach'

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