The 'About Damn Time' singer insists it's a 'feminist' move for her to proudly show off her body and curves because movements evolve and culture changes.
- Oct 13, 2022
AceShowbiz - Lizzo considered herself a "feminist" for wearing skimpy outfits. The "About Damn Time" hitmaker - whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson - believed it's "political" to honour her body in whatever she wants to wear while performing on stage.
"I wanted to be like a dancer and also, it was kind of political and feminist in my eyes to have me, a full-figured dancer, wearing leotards, showing and celebrating curves and being Olympian in strength, endurance, and flexibility," the 34-year-old rapper told Vanity Fair.
Lizzo cited references like Josephine Baker - who was notable for her banana skirts in the 20s - while explaining these efforts need to "evolve generationally." She said, "Movements have to evolve generationally. The culture changes. You can't have a movement in 1920 be the same thing as it is in the 2020s. We have to match the rebellion. The rebellion isn't even the same."
The Grammy winner - who in summer 2021 appeared on Instagram Live in tears about racism and fatphobia she had experienced online two days after her Cardi B collab "Rumours" was released - says if online hate can spread "like a f***** virus" as she reflected on why that instance really upset her.
Lizzo said, "People have been calling me fat my entire life, but that was the first time seeing an insult of how I looked, who I am, and my music wrapped into one, and it really hurt me. And if one person says it, then another person says it, it multiplies like a f***** virus. If enough people on the internet start echoing sentiments about you, it becomes part of your public persona and it's out of your control."
The "Good as Hell" hitmaker hopes to be a role model to help others dealing with online hate "get through it." She explained, "There's been so many times I've been in glam where I've been sad about something, either a romantic thing or somebody passed away, or something in the news, and I'd get emotional and I'd say 'I've got to take a break because I'm going to cry and fuck up the makeup.' "
"I had to go and do my job. So I went to the bathroom to cry about it, then I went online, because once I learn how to express myself, I need to tell that person how I really feel."
"I know I'm not the only person who experiences extreme negativity thrown at them from the internet - there are people in high school right now who have a whole high school talking about them, and they don't know how they're going to get through it. So if they can see me get through it on the level and the scale I'm experiencing it, maybe they'll think they can get through it too."
