Skip to content
News

Lily Allen’s Public ‘NME’

Lily Allen’s PR team doesn’t have a lot to “Smile” about. From leaked underage photos of the singer flashing a camera to public insults of other musicians and drug rumors, Britpop’s reigning princess is definitely making any handlers earn their keep. But her recent blog rant about NME‘s “Cool List” issue feels a bit different: Allen’s taking a defiant stance against the U.K. music rag’s decision to feature Muse on the cover in lieu of an all-female cover for which she posed. It’s been a hot topic, to say the least, with 651 comments posted as of press time, and other blogs and the British press picking up the story.

“Don’t make me sick, we’ve always been here you arrogant prick, this was your chance to actually show you meant it,” Allen wrote. “And instead you put Muse on the cover. Cause you thought that your readers might not buy a magazine with an overweight lesbian and a not particularly attractive looking me, on the front. Wankers.”

Later, Allen quoted NME editor Conor McNicholas’ statement about the new issue of NME: “From Beth to Lily to Karen, they’ve brought new energy to a scene dominated by men,” Lily quotes McNicholas as sayng. “They’re also living proof that you can still rock a crowd when you’re wearing stilettos.” That last part drew Allen’s particular ire: “I mean how fucking patronising — ‘you can still rock a crowd wearing stilletos.'”

Blogging the hand that feeds you might offer some relief, but we’re betting that all plans for any future Lily Allen NME covers have been scrapped.

Here’s what people are saying:

“Lily Allen is totally, unequivocally right about NME being sexist. Now watch all the idiots call her a bitch. They’ll buy right into the negative hype. Sure, she has a big mouth, but sorry, I’d take her brand of independence and forthrightness over the blandisms that most pop stars spew when they open their plastic gobs. Lily will be on my kickball team.” — xolondon, xolondon.blogspot.com

“Trouble is, if pop stars like yourself keep pandering to NME then you will continue to be badly covered. Stick to your guns, don’t deal with them…Oasis keep saying they won’t, but then a new release comes up and then they do again. NME just build people up to knock them back down again.” — 21/12/2012, blog.myspace.com

“I agree with a lot of what you’ve said Lily, and I hope you sent those comments in to the editor. Having said that, there has been a lot of other press coverage in newspapers yesterday and today about how good it was that there were so many women such as yourself included this time around…so if nothing else surely that’s a good thing? I can see both sides I guess, but…it’s your own fault that you’re widely associated with cocaine now. If you didn’t want to be known as the gak queen you shouldn’t have said it in the first place, even if you were joking. You should know the media better than that.” — StevieFM, blog.myspace.com

NME and Lily Allen are both totally dookie.” — Stockard Channing, stereogum.com

“The [NME] comments were patronizing and the choice to take you guys off the cover without giving you any notice is pretty out of order…I don’t give a shit about their opinions but maybe it is time for a female editor — she can turn up in her stillettos and kick their arses with them!” — Laura. blog.myspace.com

Talk: Is NME an enemy to the women of rock? COMMENT

On the Web:
Lily Allen at myspace.com

>> Listen to Lily Allen on Napster