Lizzo unintentionally started a fandom war when she shared a list of who she considers pop music royalty. When the “Rumors” artist crowned Janet Jackson as “Queen of Pop” over Madonna, it didn’t take long for Madge’s fans to come for the singer, but Jackson’s fans weren’t accepting the disrespect of either Black artist.
The three-time Grammy Award-winning performer tweeted her thoughts on which stars belong to the reigning family of pop music. In the list, she named Beyoncé “Queen of Music,” Michael Jackson “King of Pop,” and crowned Rihanna “The Pop Princess.” It was her opinion on the “Queen of Pop” title that received the most attention, however, Madonna’s fans responded to the list with a vengeance, claiming their queen was wrongfully dethroned.
Both Jackson and Madonna rose to music industry superstardom in the 1980s. Throughout their barrier-pushing, innovative, and provocative careers, they’ve since maintained a level of success that has earned them places in pop culture history.
The “Like a Virgin” artist’s fans were offended by what they felt was an oversight on Lizzo’s behalf, since Madonna has been referred to as the “Queen of Pop” in media, and they blasted her in the comments, some even going as far as saying they’d never listen to Lizzo’s music again.
Ms. Jackson’s fans were having none of the slander, however, and quickly came to Lizzo’s defense.
“Thats only Queen of pop Is Madonna, Not Janet Jackson,” tweeted one Madonna fan.
“just remove your 3 songs I liked from my Spotify Playlist… I didn’t see you as one of those divisive figure in the music world… good luck to you with that… LOL We do not tolerate 🏳️🌈👑Queen of POP – M A D O N N A Slander,” tweeted another.
“Janet Jackson literally paved the way,” tweeted a Janet Jackson fan.
“People try to downplay how hard it was out here for Janet Jackson after that Super Bowl. The powers that be weren’t fucking with her AT ALL! It was almost like they couldn’t wait for an opportunity to erase her. That shit was crazy,” tweeted social media personality Dollar.
The singer likely had no idea that her opinions would cause such a polarizing reaction, with the “Queen of Pop” debate even trending for a time on the platform.
Lizzo followed up her controversial list with another list, this time crowing a variety of musical queens across a number of genres. She named Aretha Franklin “Queen of Soul,” Mariah Carey “Queen of R&B,” Mary J. Blige “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,” and Tina Turner “Queen of Rock & Roll.”
