Rosalía

It is inevitable that every statement of Rosaliaone of the most scrutinized artists of today, raised dust. And as a woman with a success difficult to encompasseven more so. The curious thing is that she does not stop pecking at controversial topics: Palestine, Catholicism and, now, feminism. And of course, each of their positions entails the consequent wave of responses for or against. The question is whether his commitment to non-polarization is still polarization in itself. The conflict phrase. “I surround myself with feminist ideas, but I am not morally perfect enough to consider myself within an ‘ism’.” With this phrase pronounced on Radio3 Extra during the promotion of his ‘LUX‘, Rosalía once again evaded the issue regarding a conflictive issue. The Catalan singer has made ambiguity part of her business model, but it is not the first time: it is the second version of a tactic that she already put into practice five months ago. The pattern of neutrality. After the refusal of the Balearic designer Miguel Adrover to work with her for not speaking out about Gaza, Rosalía launched three paragraphs about the conflict without saying “Israel”, “occupation” or “genocide”. His strategy: vaguely condemn “what is happening” while arguing that “the pointing should be directed upward, not horizontally between us.” Some analysts they then observed that this form of protest is the complete opposite of activism (donations, NGOs, hiring of Palestinian personnel): a declaration of intentions without commitment. And it worked: after the statement, the controversy cooled down within a week. Adrover did not mention her again, the fans moved on to other scandals, and Rosalía was able to continue promoting ‘LUX’ without losing any advertising contract. In the age of the 72-hour news cycle, whoever holds out wins. And now, feminism. This verbal balancing act is repeated now: Rosalía “surrounds herself with feminist ideas”, in the same way that in July she felt “horrified” by Gaza: these are feelings without militancy. She protests when they pressure her for her silence, but It never gets muddy on its own initiative. And in both cases, avoid words that could be cited against him. It doesn’t say “Palestine”, but “what happens”, and it doesn’t say “feminist”, but that it is not “morally perfect”: it uses language designed not to remain. The importance of the United States. This linguistic engineering is explained by the key relevance of the US market, where controversies woke up in a particularly adverse climate they can sink careers (the commercial disaster of the new ‘Snow White’ after the pro-Palestine statements of its protagonist Rachel Zegleror the rejection of woke twists from brands like target, Jaguar either Bud Light). Rosalía has 70 million followers on networks and contracts with brands around the world. Saying “I am a feminist”, for example, automatically excludes it from conservative Latin markets or in Saudi Arabia, while the opposite position cancels it out in Europe. The solution: don’t say anything definitive. Let’s not forget that Rosalía’s business already functions as a company, a family business structure that turns over millions. Motomami SL entered 3.6 million euros in 2022 alone. In February 2024, Tresmamis SL was established, a real estate agency dedicated to managing properties such as a penthouse with views of the Mediterranean between Castelldefels and Sitges or a modernist apartment in Barcelona. Added to this are global contracts with brands such as Dior, Calvin Klein, MAC Cosmetics, Skims and Coca-Cola, which according to estimates generate between 5.3 and 7.2 million additional dollars annually. It is not surprising that each strategic silence protects an international investment portfolio. The Sydney Sweeney precedent. A clarifying precedent about Rosalía’s attitude is in the actress Sydney Sweeney, who in July 2025 starred in a jeans advertising campaign for American Eagle with the slogan “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” a play on “genes” that sparked accusations of promoting eugenics and white supremacy. Sweeney’s response was complete silence for weeks, followed by an interview for GQ where he declared with icy indifference: “When I have something to say, people will know.” He didn’t apologize, he didn’t qualify or explain. And it worked: American Eagle’s shares soared and she established herself as an anti-woke symbol. One more layer. Rosalía is applying the same tactic, but where Sweeney refuses to speak, Rosalía speaks without committing herself. And build an aesthetic alibi: ‘LUX’ is dedicated to historical female figures who are feminist icons (with their lace, as we will see): Joan of Arcwhich challenged patriarchal military and ecclesiastical structures; Hildegard von Bingenthe 12th-century Benedictine nun who documented the female orgasm in her theological writings; Saint Teresa of Jesusreligious reformer who faced the Inquisition; either Simone Weilphilosopher who denounced worker oppression. Rosalía can point out the pantheon and make her feminism understood through osmosis. Conservative turn. But there is more, and it is that refuge in more conservative aesthetics and discourses that do not fit with feminist statements. In ‘Motomami’, Rosalía cultivated a hypersexualized image: extremely long acrylic nails, school miniskirts, thigh-high boots, aesthetics that they became linked with the pornographic industry and hentai. With ‘LUX’, we have neutral colors, straight lines, veils, digital halos. It is what some have called “modest fashion“, associated with conservative religious movements. Rosalía goes from hypersexualization to Catholic devotion. The Catholic resurgence as a context. And as a final point of this conservative underpinning of Rosalía’s non-speech: religion is back in fashion. Although we are away from massive conversions that tries to sell Catholic propaganda, yes there is a “silent revival“which has caught on in countries like France or the United Kingdom, with more attendance at mass, Bible reading recovery and others celebrations among young people. ‘LUX’ arrives at the exact moment when declaring yourself spiritual but not religious is no longer countercultural, but mainstream. In Xataka | The real deal about festivals isn’t the music, it’s that you can’t bring your own food in. But that’s over