Lana Del Rey has further elaborated on the artwork to new album ‘Chemtrails over the Country Club’ after the singer appeared to preemptively respond to criticism about the diversity of the people included on its front cover.

The singer revealed the artwork and tracklist for her much-anticipated seventh studio album, out March 19, late on Sunday night (January 10). The black-and-white cover features Del Rey and several of her friends seated around a table.

In a comment Del Rey posted on Instagram, she wrote, “As it happens when it comes to my amazing friends and this cover yes there are people of color on this records picture and that’s all I’ll say about that.”

“We are all a beautiful mix of everything- some more than others which is visible and celebrated in everything I do. In 11 years working I have always been extremely inclusive without even trying to,” she added.

“My dearest friends have been from all over the place, so before you make comments again about a WOC/POC issue, I’m not the one storming the capital, I’m literally changing the world by putting my life and thoughts and love out there on the table 24 seven. Respect it.”

In a new interview with BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac to promote the album’s newly-released title track, the singer reiterated much of what she had said on Instagram with regards to the album art, but denied that she had been acting preemptively.

“Before I even put the album cover up, I knew what people were going to say. So when they actually started saying things, I responded and I just said, ‘I got a lot of issues but inclusivity ain’t one of them.’ It just isn’t. You can’t just make it my problem,” Del Rey said.

“My friends, my family, my whatever… They’re not all one way and we’re not the ones storming the Capitol. We voted for Biden. My girlfriends come from all over the world, they have children from all different types of people. And I’m mentioning all this, like, to people who are listening, because people really wanted even more people of colour on my album cover. Which you know is, to a point, a photo just is what it is.”

“I wasn’t being preemptive, I was definitely responding, but… I just feel like if that’s really what people are gonna say, I have an answer for them, which is that if you look closer, you will see people of colour. It’s a black-and-white image, so zoom in, you know. It’s just weird, you know?”

Del Rey echoed her original comments that the women on the album’s cover are some of her longest friends, and said she felt somewhat uncomfortable having them brought into the controversy.

Elsewhere in the interview, Del Rey discussed the Capitol riots and called Donald Trump a “reflection of our world’s greatest problem” – sociopathy and narcissism.