It “hit[s] different” when your friend and fellow award-winning singer comes to your defense. SZA recently called out social media’s seeming obsession with commenting on Lizzo’s body and weight after Lizzo revealed the constant stream of hateful messages in her DMs.
“I will be wondering where all the virtue signaling, well-spoken sh*t-talking, internet warriors are when someone genuine needs defending,” SZA tweeted. “Where the f*** do y’all be at for Lizzo? Do y’all actually know how to support others or only tear them down?”
Lizzo’s weight has been and continues to be a regular topic of conversation on social media. Just last month, critics once again questioned her eating habits, even suggesting the star remains plus-sized solely for the sake of her brand, as reported by People Magazine.
“I JUST logged on … and this is the type of sh*t I see about me on a daily basis. It’s really starting to make me hate the world,” Lizzo responded. “I’m tired of explaining myself all the time, and I just wanna get on this app w/out seeing my name in some bullsh*t.”
Since the onset of her groundbreaking career, self-love and self-care have been at the crux of Lizzo’s public image. From her uplifting lyrics to her self-affirming TikTok videos, she has always been unapologetically proud of her body.
“I’m not trying to BE fat. I’m not trying to BE smaller. I’m literally just trying to live and be healthy,” Lizzo continued. “This is what my body looks like even when I’m eating super clean and working out! Y’all speak on sh*t y’all know NOTHING ABOUT, and I’m starting to get heated.”
One fan quoted SZA’s original tweet, asking, “So people don’t go to war for Lizzo in this app?” To which the star responded: “NOT EF—INGNUFF. “For as much free love, encouragement, and positivity [Lizzo] embodies and shares on every app daily? The ratios don’t add up.”
Concluding her series of tweets, SZA revealed the topic has been on her mind for some time.
“I just want everyone to practice kindness and shutting tf up more often cause GADDAMN it’s UGLY OUTSIDE ALREADY. Why add?” she pleaded.
Although Lizzo acknowledges that her fans’ love and support outweigh the hateful comments, the star admits she sometimes feels like “giving up on everyone and enjoying my money and my man on a F***ING FARM.”
However ugly the commentary may be, Lizzo’s presence in mainstream media is nevertheless positively impacting little Black girls worldwide. Connecticut mom Danielle Cromwell-Cannon’s 7-year-old daughter Aria is one of many children who have fallen in love with Lizzo’s music and stage presence. After a video of her dancing along to Lizzo’s “It’s About Damn Time” went viral on TikTok, Aria quickly became known as “little Lizzo.”
“Lizzo did end up seeing it, and she responded to it,” Cromwell-Cannon told theGrio in an interview, referencing Lizzo’s emotional response. “Since then, it’s just been like, ‘Oh, she’s little Lizzo.’ That was the song that got Aria into absolutely loving Lizzo and being like, ‘Mommy, she looks like me.'”
During her Hartford, Connecticut, show on “The Special 2our,” Lizzo shared a special moment with her mini-me. After unexpectedly winning two free tickets in a local radio station contest, Cromwell-Cannon began preparing Aria’s costume and sign for the special evening. Dressed up like the superhero seen in Lizzo’s “Special” music video, Aria caught the attention of fans the second they reached the venue.
“We were in the nosebleeds, which was OK because it was the experience. I had made a sign that said, ‘Hey, Lizzo, it’s me, Aria,’ and it’s the screenshot of the viral video,” she said. “Long story short, Lizzo got to the part of the show where she started to read everybody’s posters, and she pointed to ours up top and was like, ‘Oh, that poster up there. I see you,’ which really made everybody look around.”
With the help of a determined fan sitting nearby, Cromwell-Cannon and her daughter maneuvered their way down to the floor level.
“I owe this to [our seatmate] Gianna. She had to be like 15 or 16, and she had all this funk, and she was like, ‘I’m gonna take her down there. She’s gonna get on stage,'” Cromwell-Cannon recounted. “Lizzo pans back around, and she got to us. But at that point, everybody in that section had read the poster, and they realized that Aria was the little girl from the video, [so] everybody in the section was cheering for [Lizzo’s attention].”
Next thing the mother of two knew, her little girl was being lifted over the barrier by Lizzo’s security and onto the stage to share a very special moment with her favorite artist.
“Lizzo put her mic down. Nobody can hear what [they’re] saying, which was beautiful because it was such a private moment [happening] very publicly,” she shared. “It’s important because Lizzo needs to know that the moms are for her. Like, ‘Hey, the moms of the brown little chubby girls, we are for you because you show my baby what a real body looks like.’ “
Haniyah Philogene is a multimedia storyteller and Lifestyle reporter covering all things culture. With a passion for digital media, she goes above and beyond to find new ways to tell and share stories.
TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrio’s Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to ‘Writing Black‘ with Maiysha Kai.