Hell hath no fury like a One Direction fan scorned. "Royals" chart-topper Lorde and her rumored boyfriend are facing an onslaught of vile, racially charged tweets from angry 1D followers and other Twitter users who claim she called the British boy banders "ugly" and "overrated."
The 17-year-old singer is reportedly dating 24-year-old photographer James Lowe, who happens to be of Asian descent. After photos of the two at the beach surfaced online, Twitter exploded with insulting comments about Lowe's appearance.
@whosxays: "what the f–k is lorde and that chinese sort of ostrich boyfriend anyway."
@craicdaddyniall: "damn lorde is a lucky girl i bet her boyfriend gives her free manicures and pedicures."
@extrodinlarry: "Lorde called one direction ugly. Girl your boyfriend looks like Mao Tse Tung. (mao zedong)"
@THUGCITY: "lorde's boyfriend looks like the chinese exchange student from sixteen candles."
@NHDroppedHisTea: "lorde's boyfriend or PSY gone wrong you decide."
Many of the tweeters in question quoted the New Zealand singer-songwriter as saying that "All of One Direction are ugly." Some claim she also called Justin Bieber "ugly."
As noted by Jezebel, however, there's no record of any such quotes online. In fact, the multiple Grammy nominee attended a 1D concert in New Zealand this October, tweeting, "the weirdest lil goth at the one direction concert is meeeee. this is the most enthusiastic audience i have ever witnessed."
The "Team" singer has been known to criticize her fellow pop stars, including Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, and Nicki Minaj, but her comments are generally about their music or behavior, not about their appearance. (This summer, she slammed Gomez's song "Come & Get It" for sending the wrong message about women.)
"I think there's a funny culture in music that's only happened over the last 15 years, that if you have an opinion about something in music that isn't 100 percent good, you're a 'hater,' even if you have perfectly reasonable grounds for that critique," she told MTV News in October of her controversial opinions.
"I have pretty strong morals and opinions being in pop music, and I can't help but express those, which I think people appreciate," she continued. "I mean, I don't think I say anything that isn't backed up. Most of the time I will stand by things that I've said."
