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Courtney Love Calls Bikini Kill the “Biggest Hoax in History of Rock and Roll”

Courtney Love and legendary Washington-state punk band Bikini Kill have been in a feud since the early 1990s, with the most notorious incident involving lead singer Kathleen Hanna filing a police report after Love allegedly punched her in the face backstage on the Lollapalooza ’95 tour. In an interview for Spin’s 2005 20th anniversary issue, Love continued to criticize Hanna (“I still don’t like her”), her relationship with Adam Horovitz (calling her “far more Yoko than I would be”) and the riot grrrl movement more generally, calling Bikini Kill “hypocrites.” “Look, you’ve got these highly intelligent, imperious girls, but who told them it was their undeniable American right to not be offended?” she quipped. As Stereogum points out, the Hole song “Rock Star” is also considered to be partially a dig at Hanna, mocking the band’s Olympia roots.

Now, with Bikini Kill slated to reunite this spring, Love is expressing her disdain for the group all over again. This week, she commented on a Bust magazine Instagram post about the band’s new shows, telling the publication their expressed excitement about the band’s return was displaced: “Speak for yourself. Biggest hoax in history of rock and roll . 🖤💕” In response to a commenter warning Love about the offense expressing her opinions could cause, the Hole leader wrote: “It’s worse when I speak truth to rock male industrial complex . But at least I have the best view . Two of that band total amateurs . Hanna is a good hype man . But her persona is such a diy nonsense dilettante. A big idea they cannot convey , because they suck . That’s all ! Back to Paris couture , because frocks don’t trigger me . Ce vai !”

Original Bikini Kill members Kathleen Hanna, Tobi Vail, and Kathi Wilcox will reunite for a run of three  shows in Los Angeles and New York this spring, following a one-off reunion last year. Erica Dawn Lyle has replaced Billy Karren on guitar. The band’s catalogue hit streaming services for the first time in September.