• Newsfeed
  • Music

Charli XCX Clarifies the Environmental Impact of Her Latest Music Video

2 minute read

Don’t worry: that car you see burning in pop star Charli XCX‘s latest music video for her song “White Mercedes”? It’s all environmentally sound.

On social media, the English artist clarified the behind-the-scenes situation that went into the making of the video, noting that the “black smoke and heavy fire” were made by “special effect liquid” that ensured that toxic things weren’t actually burned. “The car itself was completely emptied,” she noted. “Even the white paint we put on the car was organic and made for easy removal.”

Charli XCX was driven to share this statement after she said she saw comments made by her fans concerned about the environmental impact. But of course, the real talking point about the music video is that people have noted that none of the cars featured are actually a white Mercedes, despite the clear directive in the song title.

Charli recently released her third album, Charli, which features artists including Troye Sivan, Lizzo and Christine and the Queens. Long a beloved figure on the pop circuit, this latest release has helped put her more prominently in the pop mainstream — although she’s been a fixture there for years for those who’ve been paying attention, after writing songs like “Boom Clap” and Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” and this summer even helping put Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello on top of the charts with “Señorita.”

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com