Seeing as how, before the Lorde revelation was confirmed, there was brief speculation when Brat first came out that “Girl, so confusing” could very well be about Marina Diamandis a.k.a. MARINA (people did once say they looked alike and had the same hair as well), it feels like a full-circle kind of moment that the latter’s newest single from Princess of Power, “Cuntissimo,” has so much “brat” energy. To the point where one might say, “That ‘cunt’ sounds familiar.” This being a nod to the illustrious, shade-drenched moment when, in 2016, MARINA (back when she was still Marina and the Diamonds) made an unbridled comment on Charli XCX’s Instagram post, which showcased her then recent ad campaign for Impulse. The post in question was part of XCX’s bid to promote one of the brand’s three limited-edition body sprays that she served as the spokesperson for. The particular fragrance name that had MARINA shook was called, funnily enough, “Why Not?” As in: why not just “borrow” from MARINA’s Froot photoshoot? Or at least that might have been what the photographer, Charlotte Rutherford, was thinking.
In any case, MARINA wasted no time in publicly shaming Charli in a very bratty way, immortally commenting, “That FROOT looks familiar!” (the exclamation point retroactively giving it an “Attenzione pickpocket!” feel). This as opposed to privately reaching out to her or Rutherford to express her overt feelings of resentment about the final result. And yes, Rutherford also shot the album artwork for MARINA’s 2015 album, Froot, which is undoubtedly a key aspect of why Charli’s campaign had a similar vibe. This in addition to, as Charli pointed out in her own public response to MARINA’s none-too-subtle accusation (complete with the preachy “advice,” “Imagery is artistic property. Please respect your fellow artists”), “The point of the shoot is to make the promotional image reflective of the packaging, as I have done on previous collaborations with them. This particular scent is a summer scent, with lemons and hints of burnt orange, the design is tropical, bright yellow with pineapples, palm trees and sunglasses printed on the can. The whole brief for the campaign was based around a tropical theme, which is what the brand a.k.a. ‘the client’ wanted.” In other words, Charli didn’t, like, turn to Rutherford and say, “Hey, you know what? For shits and giggles, let’s make this campaign look like the Froot era.”
Indeed, she was also certain to note in her lengthy reply to MARINA’s callout, “I had not seen the artwork for the Marina and the Diamonds song ‘Immortal,’ and it was not an inspiration for this photoshoot or the campaign as a whole. I’ve seen it now, and yeah unfortunately it looks similar. It was shot by the same, incredibly talented photographer, and it’s a shame for both myself and Marina that this has happened. I’m not here to replicate or ‘steal’ art or things that have already been done. What’s the point in that? I’m here to do my own thing and create my own art. As I’ve said, the image in question, which I believe Marina had previously commented [about] on the photographer’s Instagram, was for a brand-based photoshoot for a tropical, lemon-scented fragrance campaign (what was I supposed to do—shoot it in the snow?!). It is not the artwork for my own album or single. That’s all I need to say really.”
But Charli said quite a bit, essentially “sputtering” in a way that her Brat persona of the present would never deign to. Alas, MARINA happened to catch Charli at a time in her life/career when she wasn’t as confident or sure of herself, perhaps more easily rattled by a fellow musician (and supposed friend) “coming for her” in this manner. Hell, it was only a few weeks after the Vroom Vroom EP dropped that this whole incident went down. The EP that was the first true sign of XCX coming into her own as an artist and carving out a sonic direction/vision (thanks to collaborating with SOPHIE) that was truly unique/whole-heartedly “herself,” and that would set the tone for what would eventually lead to Brat.
So yes, at this moment in time, Charli was not yet “brat” (least of all “brat” enough to fend off a more seasoned one), but MARINA clearly was, serving a dash of being cuntissimo with it. Before she herself had even coined that latter term for her song (one that, to be honest, Charli should cover for yet another reissue of Brat called Brat and it’s still the same but there’s a cover of cuntissimo on it so it’s not). In truth, if MARINA had waited a little longer to make such grand accusations of theft, she might have been better off biding her time until Brat’s arrival in 2024 to try and point out that some of XCX’s braggadocio-on-steroids could be attributed to all those weeks spent touring with Miss “Electra Heart” herself during The Lonely Hearts Club Tour. Soaking up the aura of a persona that MARINA has, again, clearly sought to revamp through a Marie Antoinette-styled redux of it in the video for “Cuntissimo” (a look she also kept going for her performance at this year’s Coachella).
As for the lyrics of MARINA’s own Brat-esque opus, they sound a lot like a…sofisticato version of Charli’s more jejune “brat” character, which is really just a baby cunt(issimo). For example, MARINA singing, “I’m a star, I’m a star, I’m a star/You’re so close to me, but I’m so far/It’s the power when I’m walkin’/On the streets, sweet talkin’/Push-up bra in my diamonds/Gift from my ex-husband” easily foretells the future of a brat like Charli boasting on “365,” “Push my hair back, I look hot when I’m (bumpin’ that).” Or also boasting on “Von Dutch,” “It’s okay to just admit that you’re jealous of me/Yeah, I heard you talk about me, that’s the word on the street/You’re obsessin’, just confess it, put your hands up/It’s obvious, I’m your number one/It’s alright to just admit that I’m the fantasy/You’re obsessin’, just confess it ‘cause it’s obvious/I’m your number one, I’m your number one, I’m your number one, yeah/I’m just livin’ that life.”
And, speaking of “livin’ that life,” MARINA illuminates the same kind of existence on “Cuntissimo,” reiterating during the refrain, “Oh baby, it’s a way of life.” Yes, cuntissimo is a way of life/lifestyle as much as “brat”—and both are, as Collins Dictionary would go on to define Charli’s version of that word, “characterized by a confident, independent and hedonistic attitude.”
MARINA is certain to highlight such hedonism in the verse, “I’m sweet and I’m icy and strange/Indecisive, obsessive, I crave/A glass of ice-cold champagne/Smoke a Vogue out in the rain/Yeah, we go to Lake Como/Then we take over a château/I been living in a caftan/Do people still say ‘YOLO’?” Granted, a “brat” would never be caught dead in a caftan.
Other parallels to the Brat universe in the song extend to MARINA’s pop culture-related name-checking (as Charli did with such monikers as “Julia,” “Gabbriette,” “HudMo” [a.k.a. Hudson Mohawke], “SOPHIE” and “Lana Del Rey”). And yes, MARINA’s name selections are slightly more mainstream than Charli’s, let’s say, “fringe” (to normies) references. Case in point, mentioning “Salma Hayek in the sun,” “Louise and Thelma on the run” and “This ain’t no Bonnie and Clyde.” In other words, MARINA shows that being “cuntissimo” is markedly distinct from being “brat” in that it involves having a more “classic” sense of taste—in pop culture allusions, as well as what constitutes the finer things in life (e.g., going to Lake Como and taking over a château).
Another noticeable “link” to the Brat universe arises in the form of MARINA announcing, “I live the Italian dream/And it set me free, so let’s celebrate tonight.” This mirrors Charli XCX’s lyrics on “Everything is romantic,” which express a general awe/appreciation for Italian life (and the inspiration it gives) when she sings, “Winding roads, doing manual drive/Early nights in white sheets with lace curtains/Capri in the distance/In a place that can make you change.” Set you free, as it were. Render you into the full-blown cuntissimo brat you were always meant to be.
As for who “stole” from whom in this scenario, one could argue that “Cuntissimo” is an instance of what Gay Bar writer Jeremy Atherton Lin might describe as pillaged loot (by MARINA) that had already been plundered (by XCX). For yes, it might seem, upon first appraisal, that MARINA is “desperately” trying to copy Charli’s “brat” persona here, but MARINA was the, like, inventor of a bratty musical alter ego in the first place (Electra Heart). So really, she’s just building on the brand she already established even before Charli unleashed her debut in 2013, True Romance. The same year that she would collaborate with MARINA on “Just Desserts” (released a month after TR), a song during which they both sing, “But now I laugh ‘cause you’re the one who’s being left behind/I see you cry.” Perhaps, in a “Girl, so confusing” sort of fashion, they each feel that way about one another in the present—MARINA about Brat in general and Charli about “Cuntissimo.” Unless Charli is too “brat” to care and MARINA is too “cuntissimo” to bother.
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