Maia Smith
Debate has sparked over the lyrics of the classic rock song “Lola” after Moby criticised the song for being “transphobic”. Dave Davies fired back at Moby on X, saying he felt “highly offended” by the accusation that his brother’s songwriting was transphobic.
Moby’s claim
Moby made the claim about the song “Lola“ in The Guardian’s “Honest Playlist” interview. Here, when asked what song he could no longer listen to he claimed “‘Lola‘ by the Kinks came up on a Spotify playlist, and I thought the lyrics were gross and transphobic. I like their early music, but I was really taken aback at how unevolved the lyrics are“. Moby did not explain which lyrics he found offensive or expand further on his claim.
The legacy of Lola
Lola, being one of the Kink’s most iconic releases tells the story of an encounter between the narrator and the character Lola in a club. Released in 1970, Lola reached the top 10 hits in the UK. Critics have long praised “Lola” for its storytelling, but some listeners now view the song differently in a modern context.
Davies’ clapback
Dave Davies made a clapback to Moby’s comments through a post on X. Here he rejected Moby’s claim and released some words sent to him from “trans icon” Jayne County. Here, Jayne claims that as a trans women, Lola is a song that “breaks down barriers and brings a used to be, hush, hush subject to the forefront”. Jayne follows by assuring how the song showed “the REAL world!” and “broke down the door of a narrow mindedness”. See the full post below.
to @thelittleidiot Moby’s criticism of our song LOLA these are the words sent to me and Ray from our dear friend trans icon @jaynecounty27 #JayneCounty. I am highly insulted that MOBY would accuse my brother of being ‘unevolved’ or transphobic in any way. https://t.co/hBFmLPdMKH pic.twitter.com/qYcxoMc03d
— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) March 22, 2026
