Pop singer Lizzo has been a trailblazing artist from the moment her exhilarating voice reached airwaves. With just two albums, the “Truth Hurts” singer has been a spark of several conversations surrounding confidence, sexuality, and self-love for plus-size people, in particular, women.
However, carrying the weight of those discussions has its up and downs. While she may get support from thousands for urging people to open up their minds to the true beauty and potential of plus-size people, she’s also forced to face a lot of backlash and derogatory comments from critics and trolls.
The 33-year-old is even robbed of her celebratory moments at times because of the backlash. She told “Good Morning America” on Aug. 18, “I don’t mind critique about me, my music, I don’t even mind the fat comments. I just feel like it’s unfair, sometimes, the treatment that people like me receive.”
Just last Friday, Lizzo dropped her latest single, “Rumors” featuring Cardi B, which many anticipated because she hasn’t released any new music in the past two years. However, after the release of the song she not only received the typical belittling comments about her weight but this time the denigrators took it a step further and called her an offensive and historically racist term: “Mammy.”
According to Merriam-Webster, mammy is a term used to describe “a Black woman serving as a nurse to white children especially formerly in the southern U.S.” It’s also a character whose physical appearance is usually that of a plus-size darker-skinned black woman, with an apron on and a scarf tied to her head. Two days after the release of the video, Lizzo tearfully responded to the comments for 12 minutes on IG Live, saying “It’s fat-phobic, and it’s racist, and it’s hurtful.”
However, regardless of the nasty critiques she gets, Lizzo says “My head is always up, even when I’m upset and even when I’m crying, my head is up. But I know my job as an artist is to reflect the times and this sh-t should not fly. This shouldn’t be OK.”
She went on to credit social media as being one of the reasons she hasn’t “been erased” from the industry after so many Black women have despite “being in this industry and innovating it forever.” The “Hustlers” actress said, “I chose to be undeniable, and I chose to be loud, and I chose to be great, and I’m still here.” However, she did admit it can be “difficult” at times.
Just five days after releasing the “Rumors” video Lizzo has already had nearly 15 million views and is trending at No. 1 for music on YouTube.
