WASHINGTON — During her show at The Anthem in D.C. on Monday, New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde caused a stir by telling the crowd she swam in the Potomac River.
"The crowd is in SHAMBLES," concertgoer Natalie Escobar said in a tweet. Escobar said the Grammy-winning artist did it to get a feel for D.C. Another Lorde fan said the venue booed.
In video from the show, Lorde said she was lying in the river contemplating what to say to the crowd.
"I love swimming in water where I'm playing," Lorde, 25, said. "It makes me feel like I know you a bit better."
The reaction on social media has been mixed.
"She did what?!" one user said. Another said she's going to grow an extra limb. Others praised her for the move. "She's so real for that ngl," said one user said on Twitter.
While many reacted with horror when hearing of the revaluation, earlier this year DMV leaders celebrated the progress made in cleaning the Potomac.
"I think a lot of people still think that this river is not clean enough to swim, but we've been doing the testing for three straight years, every single week," said Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks back in March. "And we're finding that there's plenty of days, and a lot of places more than 85% of the time, where it is safe to swim in this river. I swim in this river, my daughter swims in this river.”
Swimming in the Potomac has been banned since 1932.
The ban shut down a popular swimming beach that operated in the tidal basin. In the 1920s, thousands of residents flocked to the beach, which included a platform for diving. By the 1960s, industrial pollution and sewage had turned the river into what President Lyndon Johnson called "a national disgrace."
For now, swimming events such as triathlons are allowed through individual permits that follow a process to determine if conditions are safe, according to a statement from D.C.'s Department of Energy and the Environment.
However, DOEE’s goal is to allow swimming in District waters, according to a statement.
"We are encouraged to see recent data indicating that the Potomac is often safe for swimming," DOEE wrote in a statement. "To remove the swimming ban, DOEE is taking steps to update our regulations and water quality standards to be consistent with EPA’s most recent science and recommended standards. This, combined with developing new monitoring and analytical tools, will allow the District to alert the public when the waters are unsafe for contact recreation, not unlike beach advisories that are used in coastal communities."
While the ban is still in place safety remains a top concern.
It's not clear how long remained in the Potomac waters, or what kind of feel she got from her swim and soak
Lorde is in the midst of a worldwide tour in support of her 2021 album Solar Power.