Lizzo got some serious A-list support over the weekend from friends who came to her defense after trolls posted vile responses to the singer/rapper’s new collab with Cardi B, “Rumors.” In a tearful nearly 13-minute video posted on Instagram Live on Sunday (August 15) — which has since gone away but been preserved by fans — Lizzo held court in a bathroom for a confessional video about how deeply the insults cut.
“On the days when I should feel the happiest, it just… I feel so down,” she said, dabbing her eyes with tissue as she described working “triple” and “quadruple” time, doing 12 hours a day of press, rehearsals and filming and hitting the studio two different times after getting a root canal. “Sometimes I feel like the world just don’t love me back. It’s like it doesn’t matter how much positive energy you put into the world, you’re still gonna have people who have something mean to say about you.”
She said when she’s grinding this hard she feel more exposed, more sensitive and the comments get to her, especially after all the hard work that went into the song. “People saying s–t about me that doesn’t even make sense. It’s fat-phobic, it’s racist and it’s hurtful,” she said, noting that it’s cool if you don’t like the song, but not liking the singer for the way she looks? Not cool.
“I’m not making music for anybody. I’m a Black woman making music,” Lizzo, 33, added. “I make Black music, period. I’m not serving anyone but myself. Everyone is invited to a Lizzo show, to a Lizzo song. To this good energy. Everyone is invited.”
And while she was upset and angry at the comments, Lizzo said she knows there are always haters out there who will criticize and she tries to accept that. “For the people that just always have something negative to say about me, that has nothing to do with music, or the content of my character, or me as an artist, and just has everything to do with my body or whatever trope you think I fall into… suck my p—y from behind,” she said. “‘Cause y’all mother—-ers gonna be the ones that’s catching up.”
She pledged to only focus on the good and positive going forward, pushing out the negativity and hate and putting all her energy into being a “bad b—h.”
“What I won’t accept is y’all doing this to Black women over and over and over again, especially us big Black girls,” she said. “When we don’t fit into the box that you want to put us in, you just unleash hatred onto us. It’s not cool. I’m doing this s— for the big Black women in the future who just want to live their lives without being scrutinized or put into boxes.”
Her sister in song, Cardi, came to Lizzo’s defense, tweeting, “When you stand up for yourself they claim your problematic & sensitive.When you don’t they tear you apart until you crying like this. Whether you skinny,big,plastic, they going to always try to put their insecurities on you.Remember these are nerds looking at the popular table.”
Lizzo also go some love from Chloe Bailey of Chloe x Halle, who tweeted, “I’m so proud of you @lizzo people are gonna talk, but you have power in your voice. thank you for inspiring me.” The Good Place‘s Jamella Jamil took off on Twitter trolls in a three-part takedown that began, “Lizzo makes a song about people spending energy trying to bring women down. Twitter erupts in abuse about her talent and mostly her appearance, and then she cries on IG live while addressing how damaging this culture is, and she gets made fun of for crying. This is so f—ed up.”
“Rumors,” which dropped on Friday finds the two women frolicking on a Grecian set as they sing and rap about all the fake stories swirling around them.
Watch Lizzo’s video, the “Rumors” clip and see the supportive tweets below.
Loving yourself in a world that don’t love u back takes an incredible amount of self awareness & a bullshit detector that can see through ass backwards societal standards…
if u managed to love yourself today I’m proud of u.
If u haven’t, I’m still proud of u. This shits hard
— ALL THE RUMORS ARE TRUE (@lizzo) August 15, 2021
When you stand up for yourself they claim your problematic & sensitive.When you don’t they tear you apart until you crying like this. Whether you skinny,big,plastic, they going to always try to put their insecurities on you.Remember these are nerds looking at the popular table. https://t.co/jE5eJw8XP6
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) August 15, 2021
Rumors is doing great. Stop trying to say the song is flopping to dismiss a woman emotions on bullying or acting like they need sympathy. The song is top 10 on all platforms. Body shaming and callin her mammy is mean & racist as fuck. pic.twitter.com/Dr2t06mjEs
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) August 15, 2021
😘thank uuu u know how it is out here but fuck the haters We Rise https://t.co/uFb9hVcKd2
— ALL THE RUMORS ARE TRUE (@lizzo) August 15, 2021
This app has spawned, encouraged and celebrated the most depraved, dehumanized and depressing side of human beings. It’s not FUNNY that you’re hurting some innocent cheerful musician’s mental health. It’s not going to take back the pain of whatever your school bullies did to you.
— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) August 15, 2021
When you pile onto and Enjoy the pain of a Black woman who literally only tries to uplift other people, while NOT spending your time piling onto and going after actual abusers and predators… it doesn’t make you cool. It highlights what a useless, irrelevant, vicious pig you are.
— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) August 15, 2021
Sad to see society and the internet come together to try and take down people, especially such positive leaders and role models. This is the part that jades me about the world. We’ll never appreciate greatness until it’s gone. 💖 @lizzo https://t.co/tkKRPhtIE9
— Bella Poarch (@bellapoarch) August 15, 2021