Lorde said she is still working through feelings of identity dysphoria and sought to clarify past comments about her gender in a wide-ranging interview with Dazed magazine published this week.
The New Zealand-born singer, who uses she/her pronouns, addressed backlash after remarks in a May Rolling Stone interview in which, when asked by fellow artist Chappell Roan whether she was non-binary, she said, "I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man," and added she fell "in the middle gender wise." In the Dazed conversation, Lorde said she had "misquoted" Roan and that Roan had asked, "So your pronouns are changing?" Lorde said she felt bad about the misunderstanding and described days when she cannot wear women's clothes and other days when she feels "totally out-of-body" as part of an ongoing process of understanding her identity.
Lorde, whose given name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor, said binding her chest once gave her a feeling of a "pure version" of herself but that she remains on a journey to determine what her identity means long term. "I just think it takes time to metabolise and find itself," she said, adding, "I’m excited to find out where that lands, if it ever does land. Your whole life it keeps unfurling."
She also spoke candidly about drug use and mental health. Lorde reiterated previous comments crediting MDMA-assisted therapy with helping her stage fright and said when asked if MDMA was "her drug" of choice simply, "Yeah." She told Dazed she first tried the drug "too young," and discussed more broadly how chemicals alter perception.
On the subject of reproductive and mental health, Lorde said she was diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD, after stopping hormonal birth control. She described "very significant dips in mood every month" and said she takes what she called "the tiniest dose of Prozac, snapped in half, once a month," which she said has made a large difference.
Health authorities caution against recreational MDMA use. Experts and public-health guidance say repeated use can deplete serotonin and increase the risk of anxiety and depression, and warn that mixing MDMA with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other medications can raise the risk of serotonin syndrome, a potentially serious condition marked by agitation, rapid heart rate, high blood pressure and other symptoms.
The Dazed interview comes amid Lorde's wider public return to music this year. In April she released a snippet of a new song, "What It Is," her first new material in four years. In May she announced her fourth studio album, titled Virgin, and unveiled provocative artwork that included an X-ray image of her pelvic area and a separate vinyl cover that many readers found explicit. Reactions on social media ranged from shock to praise; some raised concerns about family members encountering the vinyl image, while others defended the artwork as an artistic statement.
Lorde told Dazed that at the start of 2023 she had been struggling creatively and mentally, and that she had at one point thought she might "never make music again." She said that period included an intense focus on weight and body image and that when those eating and exercise behaviors eased, her creativity returned.
The Dazed feature includes a photographic spread and a long-form interview in which Lorde reflected on a decade-plus career, her health and the evolving way she presents herself publicly. She said repeatedly that her sense of self remains "a work in progress" and framed much of the conversation as part of a continuing attempt to name and live with complex feelings.
For confidential support related to mental-health concerns, in the U.K. Samaritans can be reached at 116 123 or [email protected]. In the U.S. Crisis Text Line is available by texting MHA to 741741. In Australia, Beyond Blue can be contacted at 1300 22 4636.