Lily Allen’s Controversial Past Resurfaces After She Criticizes Beyoncé

Beyoncé fans resurfaced Lily Allen’s controversial past after the U.K.-based artist criticized the 32-time Grammy award winner and her new album, Cowboy Carter.

On an episode of the “Miss Me?” podcast hosted by Allen and Miquita Oliver, the pair ripped Cowboy Carter’s “Jolene,” which was an homage to Dolly Parton’s original version of the hit.

“I don’t think the Jolene one’s good,” Oliver said.

“It’s very weird that you’d cover the most successful songs in that genre,” Allen added, referring to Bey’s take on country.

“But I also feel like ‘Jolene’s’ such an excellent song, like I’ve listened to the story of how Dolly Parton wrote it in about 20 minutes like over and over because I just think it’s so genius. And I don’t know, it just felt like a bit standard hip-hoppy under a ‘Jolene’ cover,” Oliver continued.

“It’s like let’s, let’s do something with this song,” she said. “If we’re gonna take it apart and put it back together, I feel like Beyoncé could have done a bit more with it or maybe pick something that was a little less baited to cover.”

“Yeah, I just feel like it’s quite an interesting thing to do when you’re like trying to tackle a new genre and you just choose the biggest song in that genre to cover. I mean, you do you, Beyoncé, and she literally is doing her. Or is she doing Dolly?” Allen added.

At one point during the podcast, Allen also suggested that Beyoncé uses plastic surgery to maintain her appearance.

“She’s getting some help,” Allen said, referring to Bey’s appearance. When her co-host insisted that Bey hadn’t had surgery, Allen responded, “I didn’t say that.”

“I’m just saying that, like, you know she’s got a great team of stylists, hair people, you know she works out a lot, she’s got access to the best trainers in the world, like, she knows she’s Beyoncé,” the U.K. artist said.

Social media users dug up Allen’s problematic past following her criticism of Bey.

“Lily Allen you know what’s weird? Putting ur husband’s p***s in blackface and saying it was Azealia Banks,” one X user tweeted, referring to an explicit image shared in 2013 that allegedly depicted Allen’s ex-husband Sam Cooper’s genitalia with a wide red-lipped smile, gold chain, black afro-like hair.

Allen and Azelia Banks were feuding at the time after the rapper called Cooper ugly.

The Beyhive also resurfaced Allen’s 2014 music video for “Hard Out Here,” which featured the artist surrounded by Black dancers, who wore bikinis with money in their tops, had champagne poured on them, and smoked cigarettes.

Allen was previously called out for depicting racist imagery in her video. At the time, Allen said the video “has nothing to do with race, at all” and that it “is meant to be a lighthearted satirical video that deals with objectification of women within modern pop culture … The message is clear.”