Kelly Price candidly discussed how important Lizzo is in the music industry during an interview with “The Breakfast Club,” on April 6. The “Friend of Mine” singer was promoting “Grace,” her new album released this week, as she dived into serious topics like fat-shaming in the entertainment world.
Price, whose career spans decades, opened up about how she walked away from signing a recording contract with Jive Records because the executives told her she would need to lose weight. The singer described at mark 18:30 the interaction she had when she asked about how much weight she should lose.
“I said, like, ‘How much weight? Like, do you want me Whitney Houston thin? Because like I come from a family where the women are, you know, whether they’re bigger or smaller they’re still [thick]. Who gets to decide how much is enough? Like, what if I feel like it’s enough and you still feel like I need to lose more?’”
Price added that if she didn’t meet the label’s target by losing the amount of weight they wanted she had a possible chance of having her music shelved. “I said no, like, ballpark, and no one knew, and nobody knew. I said OK. Well, then the question is if I get to a place where I’m feeling OK about it and you don’t, what happens to the record, and the answer was we don’t know.”
While Price mentioned instances where she’s been purposely hidden because of her weight, she touched points on how artists like Lizzo are changing the narrative of what beauty means. The 48-year-old talked about the “Good as Hell” singer’s significance in the industry. She said on mark 44:01, “She’s super important [people] ask me about her all the time. Like I love that she loves herself in the skin that she’s in, because I wasn’t there when I was her age. Like, I wasn’t.”
She continued, “I wasn’t there when I was younger, and I was forced to do it. I had to wear the face like I had to sell it. I wish I had that level of confidence. I would have made a lot of different decisions. I probably would have left a lot. You know what I mean, like, there were so many things that played into decisions that I made in my life not just for the stage or for the record but [also] in my personal life. All of that played into it.”
Many people expressed in the comments section how superficial the entertainment industry can be and the effect this has on artists.
“Body shaming in the music industry is a reflection of body shaming in wider society. Which is why it’s important that parents teach their children from an early age how to build up and maintain their self-esteem that way when someone tries to body shame them it won’t have a negative or positive impact on their mental health…”
“That’s the industry. It’s not about talent so your look gotta be a certain way for you to “sell”. She has such an amazing voice. It’s just sad how superficial the industry is.”
“It’s sad how other women don’t speak out against an industry that has so much influence on our young ones that some may think you should be a certain size or complexion to share their talent. Because Kelly deflee got vocals for dayzzz!”
One fan mentioned the reason why Lizzo is admired by many is because she is expressing body positivity by being honest about her journey: “I felttttttt her sooo much, and we loveeee LIZZOO cause she still had her own inner issues and saying f the world while she fights thru them 💪💪👏.”
Last week Lizzo slammed critics who viewed and deemed overweight women’s bodies unhealthy by uploading a TikTok video discussing the importance of body positivity.
She said, “I just wanted to say, I’ve seen a few of these videos about fat girls who eat healthy and stay active but can’t seem to lose weight. I think these kinds of videos are important, whether they intend to lose weight or don’t want to lose weight, just to show that every single body is different, and how it functions is different.”
The singer continued, “What really bothers me are the fake doctors in the comments saying, ‘Oh, you have this,’ or ‘You might have this condition.’ No. What if I’m just fat? What if this is just my body?”
