Lizzo is a massive star. The “Truth Hurts” hitmaker managed to top the charts and score big at this year’s Grammys against all odds. In an industry that favors certain looks, Lizzo was able to win on her own terms and at peace with herself. While she is the poster girl for plus size women, she has not always had the best relationship with her look. Lizzo recently opened up about her struggle to lose weight in her teens before she began accepting herself as she was.
When the world was first introduced to Lizzo, pop star was already putting on for the big girls. After years of cultivating her brand as an underground artist, she exploded into the mainstream full figured and fully realized. The Lizzo behind “Good As Hell” and “Juice” had long since made peace with herself and was flaunting her stuff album cover for Cuz I Love You. She would get immediate backlash from the media, claiming she was promoting unhealthy habits.
While many people preferred Lizzo covered up, the artist continued to defy her critics, pushing boundaries and the envelope. She addressed her critics in songs like “Fitness” and “Tempo” ft. Missy Elliott, where she discussed her confidence. During her documentary Love Lizzo, the performer opened up about her complicated relationship with her size. Lizzo was always bigger and said in high school, she often got teased for it. She found confidence in rapping and worked hard to keep the weight off. In some images, Lizzo appeared incredibly smaller. She confessed to working out, taking diet pills, and even wearing trash bags under her clothes. Eventually, Lizzo left Houston for Minneapolis to pursue her music career.
While there, she experimented with a handful of different sounds and songs. One particular song was credited with changing her entire trajectory. Not sure if she was a rapper or a singer at this point, Lizzo penned the autobiographical “My Skin.” In the song, she says, “Learning to love yourself and like learning to love your body is like that whole journey that I feel like every person, but more specifically women, have to go through.” In her documentary, Lizzo admits that not only did the song teach her that she was a songwriter and storyteller but that she needed to make music that preached self-love.
In the years since, Lizzo has worked hard to showcase other talents. Her series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls won her an Emmy. Her Yitty clothing line is also helping make athleisure fashion more accessible. Despite this, she does not escape critics, and recent pictures of Lizzo at her slimmest have circulated. Taken well before her career took off, Lizzo obviously looks super young and even uncomfortable in them.
In 2020 she told Jamila Jameel that she had to learn to stop trying to be thin and just be happy. “I’m not going to be able to please everyone with my outward appearance,” she said. “Someone’s always going to have a critique.”
