From the moment Lizzo claimed pop stardom (from both singing and her occasional jazz flute performances), she was subjected to severe backlash online. Comments about her body and strong personality wildly circulated as she released hits like “About Damn Time” and “Good as Hell.” Lizzo’s perseverance through the online hate only made people attack her even more, with her appearance being most frequently brought up for debate.
Issues in the Past
In August of 2023, Lizzo’s rise in the music industry came to a halt as three of her backup dancers publicly accused her of sexual harassment and creating a hostile working environment. This event led to the cancelation of the major music concert Made in America, which Lizzo was set to headline. Although Lizzo denies these allegations, they have not been fully disproven.
The public was shocked to hear the news, especially after more allegations arose about Lizzo’s body shaming her dancers. These claims directly oppose everything Lizzo publicly advocates for body positivity and living your best life. It’s hard to know if there is validity to any of these allegations considering the lack of proof and the juxtaposition of such claims with Lizzo’s public stances.
“I QUIT.”
It appears these allegations, in combination with the constant hate comments and unacceptance of her music, caused Lizzo’s brewing inner turmoil to reach its breaking point. Lizzo recently posted an emotional paragraph on Instagram highlighting how she is “tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in [her] life and on the internet.” She ended the post with a dramatic “I QUIT.”
This led Lizzo’s Instagram followers to question the meaning behind her abrupt resignation. Was it a resignation at all? Or was it simply a moment of temporary disgruntlement? Soon after, numerous articles from major news outlets were released addressing Lizzo’s intentions to quit the music industry.
So, Did She Quit?
A video released four days after Lizzo’s initial Instagram post settles the dispute. Lizzo addresses her viewers in the video and says that she never intended to quit music, but to quit “giving any negative energy attention.” She clarifies, saying she is done letting the hate comments and allegations get under her skin.
Although Lizzo never intended to resign, this dramatic episode leads us to question the power of an artist’s viewership to reduce an artist to emotional rubble. Their comments carry weight, and Lizzo finally reached a point where she couldn’t bear it anymore.
Looking into the future, it will be interesting to see what effect this has on Lizzo’s music and attitude. Will her lyrics be more standoffish in new songs? Will she eradicate her use of backup dancers? We will just have to stay tuned to find out.
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