Lourdes Leon explains why she has a ‘base level of hatred’ for social media

Madonna’s eldest daughter says social media has ‘turned into this horrible thing and you’re being fed lies and nonsense every day’

Lourdes Leon opens up about complicated relationship with social media (Getty Images)

Lourdes Leon has spoken candidly about why she has a “base layer of hatred” for social media.

Madonna’s eldest daughter, 25, who goes by the nickname “Lola,” discussed the topic of social media during an interview with Paper Magazine, where she revealed that she believes the platforms have turned into this “horrible thing”.

According to Leon, who chooses to maintain a mostly private life despite having more than 256,000 followers on Instagram, she believes that social media could have been “so amazing,” which she said was evidenced during the Vine era.

“I love social media as a tool. I think it could’ve been so amazing. The Vine era? So amazing. I was obsessed with Vine, it was so cool. But it’s just turned into this horrible thing and you’re being fed lies and nonsense every day because it’s all an algorithm,” she said. “You’re seeing things they want you to see so you become more and more of a consumer. Like this horrible vicious circle, but I think it could be used in such a funny way, which is how I use it. There are just a bunch of trolls online, but unfortunately people take it so seriously and it’s literally their life because it is a lot of people’s lives.”

When it comes to her own social media usage, Leon said she has a “complicated” relationship with the platforms, as she admitted they have made her feel bad about herself in the past, and because she acknowledges that comparing oneself to others is “not healthy for anyone”.

“Half these social media presences are a complete lie. Obviously nobody is documenting the pain and shiftiness they go through. Everyone wants to just show you their unboxing videos and skincare routines. And it’s like, girl there’s more to you than that,” she said.

While speaking with the outlet, Leon, the daughter of the Material Girl singer and Carlos Leon, also revealed that she began using social media with a “base layer of hatred” after witnessing the trolling directed at her mother.

She explained: “I have a base layer of hatred because so many people like to hate on my mom, so it’s obviously like I’m the spawn, I’m the oldest daughter, I’m going to see the tail end of that hate. So anything I do negative, it’s ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ Y’all are so unoriginal.”

During the interview, Leon, who has modelled for brands such as Marc Jacobs and Mugler, also shared her thoughts on the struggles currently plaguing the fashion industry, and why “fashion will never be cool” if people don’t stop following the “algorithm of what’s trending”.

According to the model, the problem is that style has become something influced by trends or social media platforms such as TikTok, rather than individualism.

“I feel like there’s such a lack of personal style, like actual style that doesn’t have to do with trends or TikTok,” she explained. “Cause when something’s in, everybody is wearing it. Or everybody that’s trendy, but trendy for the masses. Because of TikTok and trends on social media, there’s so many different iterations of the same jacket or the same... It’s like everything is copied by everyone. I guess that is fashion now, in a way.”

Leon also acknowledged that people who “dress fully for themselves” get hate now, before noting that she isn’t sure individual style can recover “because of what social media has done to fashion”.

The 25-year-old dancer also shared some of the trends that she hopes never return, such as the “Tumblr aesthetic era,” before recognising that she might be “forecasting,” as even fashion styles that she considers “heinous” will “come back and be cool at some point”.

Leon’s comments come after she’s previously opened up about what it was like growing up as the daughter of the famous pop star, and why she’s more than a “talentless rich kid who’s had everything given to her”.