Although Lorde has achieved many fans through the years, she has also attracted much criticism.
Criticism concerning music
Green Light
After the release of Lorde's single Green Light, she revealed the songwriter Max Martin had criticized the lyrics to the single. She explained that "Martin described “Green Light” as a case of “incorrect songwriting,” although she clarified that it "wasn’t an insult, just a statement of fact,” and later agreed with him saying “It’s a strange piece of music.” Max Martin declined to comment on this.
Melodrama release date
Before the release of Green Light and Liability, fans were rather impatient for the release date of Lorde's sophomore album. On her Instagram, Lorde posted a photo of herself looking relaxed. A fan commented on this saying "Do you think we will ever get another album or should we just give up on you as an artist?" Lorde then replied with "Give up on me if you want to! I’m an artist, I write a record when I have enough special stories to tell, and it’s all me, every melody every lyric, not some team who just start the machine up every eighteen months like clockwork. The record is written, we're in production stages now. I’ve worked like a dog for a year making this thing great for you guys." The same user that confronted her replied saying "Just what I wanted to hear. I love you and respect your talent so much. I just need your voice. You are one of the most talented musicians out there girl. You are the future. You are magic. Don't mean to offend in any way." A similar incident happened sometime before this when a fan responded to her Twitter thread about an Uber gushing about a celebrity riding with him, saying to "stop tweeting about an Uber driver" because she has "an album to finish." Lorde responded with "was sitting in an Uber to the studio wasn't I?"
Criticism concerning public image
Relationship with James Lowe
Lorde garnered mass criticism after she began dating photographer James Lowe. Much of this criticism was due to the fact he was Asian. Many comments were openly scornful, in example: "what the f--k is lorde and that chinese sort of ostrich boyfriend anyway." "lorde's boyfriend looks like the chinese exchange student from sixteen candles." James Lowe revealed what the hate felt like later on, dismissing the haters. Some of this criticism was mostly thanks to many One Direction fans accusing Lorde of calling One Direction "ugly".
Dancing
Lorde has attracted a large number of criticism for her dancing on live stage. Some people have noted it as "demonic" or "exotic." After hate received by the New Zealand singer after her SNL performance of Green Light she wrote a response on Facebook saying QUOTE "one day i will do a normal dance choreographed by a nice person and I will look more like your other favourite performers but we have not yet reached that day ¯\_(ツ)_/¯."
Criticism concerning statements
"Autoimmune disease" analogy
During an interview with The Guardian, Lorde was asked about her friendship with Taylor Swift, to which she responded with "It's like having a friend with very specific allergies. There are certain places you can't go together. Certain things you can't do. There are these different sets of considerations within the friendship. It's like having a friend with an autoimmune disease." People reacted negatively, with it seeming like Lorde had threw subtle shade at her friend. A Twitter user posted a tweet saying "I wonder how @selenagomez feels about this. What an incredibly ignorant analogy to make @lorde." Lorde apologized saying "@stefinitely85 didn't mention taylor, but regardless, i f--ked up & that was really insensitive. i'm sorry."
Response to Charlottesville riots
After the riots in Charlottesville, Lorde tweeted QUOTE: "being a privileged white non-US citizen, i feel like tweeting to reinforce how horrific POC treatment here is is unnecessary & inappropriate. i just want to say i'm so, so sorry. all white people are responsible for this system's thrive and fall. we have to do better. i'm sorry."
People responded negatively to this, claiming she was being racist and virtue signaling. Conservative YouTuber Mark Dice dissed Lorde, saying he blamed her "horrible music", with other people making similar analogies.