There’s only one woman in modern pop who could jump out on stage at the VMAs in front of a giant inflatable butt, with a troupe of twerking backup dancers, and make it the classiest performance of the night – it’s Lizzo.
She’s got BDE through the roof, and her confidence is enviable. Lizzo never submits to the pressure to cover up her body because it’s not the skinny norm of the popstar princess genre – instead, she confronts the haters by preaching her juice to the whole world.
The singer/rapper/flautist/queen-of-good-vibes also ain’t here for people who criticise her for flaunting her body – and that includes ladies who try to call her out for being attention-seeking, or shame her for ‘promoting obesity’ (eyeroll). Let’s be real, they’re probably just jealous of her for doing the things that they won’t.
Lizzo puts the whole package on display. On social media, she’s always making a clear statement that cellulite and body rolls are no less attractive that boobs or butts. Hell, her Insta handle is ‘Lizzo be eating’ for crying out loud. She’s keeping it real, and people are adoring her for it.
Above all, her empowering public figure and performances have the potential to make genuine progress in the music industry. Female bodies are still policed by producers, record labels, and society at large, and go from being censored one moment to exploited the next. This goes double for black bodies.
Even when artists produce songs and videos that supposedly promote body positivity, their blatant messaging and sole focus on a person’s physical appearance doesn’t actually change anything for the better.
That’s what makes Lizzo so different – she’s just doing her own thing, and it always comes from the heart. Sure, she sings about being a “thick bitch who needs tempo,” but the themes of her songs are more about self-care, self-worth, and self-acceptance than crying out to the world to love her fat. And it’s those deeply personal messages that have struck a chord with her audience.
So Lizzo, if you’re reading this, keep on doing you and we’ll keep cheering you on – especially if ‘doing you’ looks like that incredible VMAs performance. Because we could all do with more ass-positive content in our lives.