Doja Cat’s online interactions with other artists have made waves. In 2015, she once used a homophobic slur aimed at rappers Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt. PerPop Crave, Doja originally defended herself by saying that she wrote the tweets in high school, had used the slur a bunch of times before, but is not homophobic. “I don’t think I hate gay people. Gay is ok,” she concluded in the since deleted post. She posted and subsequently deleted a second apology before issuing a third that said she regretted using the derogatory terms.
Later, Doja found herself in an online battle with the Barbz, aka fans of Nicki Minaj. Sticking up for her own fans against Minaj’s fanbase, Doja called Barbz “scum,” Vulture recapped. This sparked the “#DojaCatIsOverParty” hashtag. However, there seemed to be no bad blood when they teamed up for the remix of “Say So,” which reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
Around that same time, Lana Del Rey took to Instagram to share her thoughts on her place in the music industry. In a since deleted post (via The Hollywood Reporter), she mentioned several female artists, including Doja Cat, who, as she put it, “have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes.” Per NME, Doja replied, “gang sunk that dunker.” According to BuzzFeed, Del Rey clarified that she harbors no ill will, writing, “I f***ing love these singers and know them. That is why I mentioned them.”