Modern technology has forever changed the way that we interact with celebrities. Before the advent of social media, the rich and famous were able to find some sort of solace from our prying, voyeuristic eyes. Now, there is no escape - what with the round-the-clock coverage provided by the likes of E! Entertainment - and, of course, they are now able to engage themselves courtesy of platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.
While fangirls may enjoy delving into the day-to-day minutiae of Justin Bieber and the now-disbanded members of One Direction's lives, such transparency has been known to come back and haunt the top one per cent. Case in point: Lorde unintentionally caused some controversy yesterday evening when she posted a picture of a bathtub, accompanied by a caption that many thought to be disrespectful to the late, great Whitney Huston.
Lorde hit a nerve on Thursday evening after she posted an image of a bathtub on Instagram. In the caption, the singer included lyrics from Whitney Huston's 1992 hit single, writing "And iiii will always love you."
The 21-year-old's followers were quick to point out that her choice of caption was highly contentious given the fact that Whitney Huston passed away in a bathtub back in 2012.
"This is disgusting idk how people find it funny. Whitney was a legend. she was amazing. she was a queen. she was a strong black woman. I like Lorde but this is truly disgusting," one Twitter user wrote.
Another individual corroborated, "Lorde relaxing in her tub not knowing her entire comment section telling her to delete omg," while a third simply had no words, writing "DJDJDBDJ LORDE GIRL THIS AINT IT!!!"
The singer, who hails from New Zealand, has since issued an apology. "Extremely extremely poorly chosen quote," she wrote on her Instagram stories. "I’m so sorry for offending anyone — I hadn’t even put this together, I was just excited to take a bath. I’m an idiot. Love Whitney forever and ever. Sorry again."
However, many social media users did jump to the defence of Lorde, alleging that she did not mean to cause offence. "I don't think she meant it to be offensive in any way though. She’s taken it down and honestly she probably just thought up a lyric to fit her mood," one Twitter user stated, and another added "This is so dramatic. You know she wasnt trying to make it about Whitney dying".
Cited as the most awarded female act of all time by the Guinness World Records, Whitney Huston died in 2012 at the age of 48. The American singer was found submerged in a bath while staying in a suite at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.
Her cause of death was listed jointly as "drowning" and the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use".
Huston's passing provoked a great outpouring of grief, from fans and veterans of the musical community alike. Her funeral was attended by individuals such as Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and Aretha Franklin - many of whom paid powerful tributes, both in word and in song.