Woke singer Lorde has been accused of ‘gender baiting’ as she appeared to come out as non-binary in a baffling new interview.
The Royals hitmaker, 28, opened up about her gender identity to Rolling Stone as she prepares to release new album Virgin – but left fans irate when she revealed she fell ‘in the middle gender wise’ but still identifies as a cis woman.
She told the publication: ‘My gender got way more expansive when I gave my body more room’ before detailing how a conversation with superstar Chappell Roan encouraged her to reassess her gender identity.
Roan asked Lorde if she was non-binary, to which she replied: ‘I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man.
Lorde said: ‘I know that’s not a very satisfying answer but there’s a part of me that is really resistant to boxing it up.’
However Lorde said she still calls herself a cis woman and her pronouns remain unchanged – before adding that she doesn’t think ‘my identity is radical’ as ‘comparatively, I’m in a very safe place as a wealthy, cis, white woman.’
Woke singer Lorde has been accused of ‘gender baiting’ as she appeared to come out as non-binary in a baffling new interview with Rolling Stone
The Royals hitmaker, 28, opened up about her gender identity to Rolling Stone as she prepares to release new album Virgin – but left fans irate when she revealed she fell ‘in the middle gender wise’ but still identifies as a cis woman (seen in 2021)
‘Making the expression privately is one thing, but I want to make very clear that I’m not trying to take any space from anyone who has more on the line than me.’
Confused fans took to social media to praise the star for coming out as non binary nonetheless with one writing ‘omg she’s non-binary’ and ‘yasssss nonbinary lorde.’
Others accused her of ‘gender baiting’ to drum up publicity for her album, writing: ‘gender baiting is a sure marketing winner.
‘holy sh**t can we please stop with this c**p, pop artists are cringe. I don’t care what you identify as or your sexual orientation but using it to sell records is getting played out. You all spew the same s**t.
‘we don’t want this wokeness.
‘Oh my god shut up.
‘this is f*****g absurd.
‘Cringey gimmick.’
Chappell Roan asked Lorde if she was non-binary, to which she replied: ‘I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man’ – adding ‘I know that’s not a very satisfying answer but there’s a part of me that is really resistant to boxing it up’ – pictured May 2025
Others accused her of ‘gender baiting’ to drum up publicity for her album, writing: ‘gender baiting is a sure marketing winner
Others praised the singer for her words writing: ‘Fluid identity expressed beautifully in simple words’
Others praised the singer for her words writing: ‘Fluid identity expressed beautifully in simple words.
‘Lorde’s openness about gender fluidity in Virgin challenges rigid binaries and invites listeners to embrace complexity in identity. It’s a bold step toward normalizing diverse experiences and breaking down the limits society places on how we define ourselves.’
Elsewhere in the chat Lorde claimed ovulating for the first time in 10 years after coming off birth control was ‘one of the best drugs I’ve ever done’ and added: ‘I had cut some sort of cord between myself and this regulated femininity.’
Lorde also finally opened up about her once-secretive age-gap romance—confirming that she’s split from longtime boyfriend Justin Warren.
The pop star had been linked to the 45-year-old music executive since 2016, though the pair hadn’t been spotted together since March 2023.
Speculation about their relationship status ramped up in October, when Lorde was seen on a rare public outing with American musician and producer Jim-E Stack in New York.
The New Zealand native looked cozy with Stack—who was rumored to be working with her on her new album Virgin—as they strolled through the city.
Around that time, she also told fans in a letter that she’d been ‘living with heartbreak again.’
Now, in her striking new Rolling Stone cover shoot Lorde confirms what many had suspected: she and Warren have gone their separate ways.
‘I went through a breakup,’ she said. ‘It was so painful, as they are, but there was real dignity to it and grace and a lot of respect. It continues to be a relationship that I cherish.’
Reflecting on her past, the singer opened up about a recurring pattern in her relationships—often seeking out older partners or mentors to fill a void.
‘I had this feeling that I had never been alone. There’d always been someone, not even necessarily a romantic partner. And often that was an older person. I was always choosing someone to be God. It was a pattern I found myself repeating,’ she explained.
‘I think because of leaving home so young and not quite being ready to be on my own. But I had this very acute sense that I needed to be alone to really meet myself.’
She admitted that the transition wasn’t easy, describing the experience of solitude as ‘really f****** difficult”—but said she eventually embraced it.
Lorde also finally opened up about her once-secretive age-gap romance —confirming that she’s split from longtime boyfriend Justin Warren, 45 (Warren and Lorde seen in 2021)
Lorde and Warren reportedly first met in 2009, but it wasn’t until years later that rumors of a romance began to swirl.
They were first photographed together in 2016, seen laughing and splashing in the ocean during a beach outing.
At the time, Warren dismissed speculation that they were dating.
The songstress stunned fans when she unveiled the cover art for Virgin, which featured an X-ray of what looked to be her pelvic area, showcasing her hip bones, belt buckle, and zipper.
The T-shaped object in the image, appearing to be an IUD, also sparked a wave of speculation that the inclusion was a bold political statement.
The New Zealand songstress shocked fans when she unveiled the cover art for Virgin, which featured an X-ray of what looked to be her pelvic area, showcasing her hip bones, belt buckle, and zipper
Meanwhile, Lorde said she was both ‘proud and scared’ of the upcoming project in an email sent to fans; (seen in 2023)
On her website, Lorde revealed the album was ‘100% written in blood’ and will be released on June 27.
But the shock factor didn’t stop there.
Less than 24 hours later, the Royals hitmaker upped the ante, sharing eye-popping topless snaps on Instagram, seen here.
Posing with her arms crossed over her chest in front of a window, as well as another shot sitting topless and hugging her knees, Lorde captioned the post with, ‘Hanging out with Martine for @documentjournal,’ hinting the nearly nude images were part of a magazine shoot.
