Lizzo is stepping back into the spotlight and getting candid about why she took a break from making music. This week, during a performance in Los Angeles, the “Truth Hurts” singer opened up about her mental health and how it inspired her upcoming album “Love in Real Life.”
“I named it that because about a year and a half ago — it’s so hard for me to talk about — I was in such a dark, deep depression,” she told the show’s audience, People magazine reports. “I was so heartbroken by the world and so deeply hurt that I didn’t want to live anymore, and I was so deeply afraid of people that I didn’t want to be seen.”
In 2023, the star was battling depression. That same year, she faced a sexual harassment lawsuit from a group of former dancers accusing Lizzo of harassment, body shaming and a hostile work environment—all of which the star has denied. Though the star’s name has been dropped from the lawsuits, her touring company Big Grrrl Big Touring, remains a defendant in the suit.
“Eventually, I got over that fear,” she added, explaining how it was an interaction with a fan that helped shift her mindset.
“As I was walking through the crowd to get to my spot, something miraculous happened. Somebody, who I didn’t know, looked at me and said, ‘Lizzo, I love you.’ And they reached out, and I reached back, and we hugged, and it felt so damn good,” she recalled. “And after that experience, I was like, ‘Damn, you can’t get this s— on the internet, bro. This is the kind of love you can only get in real life.”
In sharing her story, Lizzo made it clear she wasn’t looking for sympathy but rather to motivate others who may have experienced “depression, or darkness, or felt so betrayed by someone they trusted or were lied on and hated on for those lies” to reach out for help. The singer, who has become known for her uplifting music, is continuing to inspire her fans while also showcasing a new evolved version of herself in her upcoming projects.
“You know what I realized? Nobody really knows me. If it’s easy for you to think just anything about me, then you don’t really know me,” she told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, per People magazine. “I think people have been distracted, and keeping it real, I think they’ve been distracted by the way that I look. I think they’ve been distracted by [the] joy that I exude. I think that they don’t understand it.”
Slowly easing her way back into the public eye, Lizzo shocked fans when she debuted a slimmer figure, which she says is a result of months of work towards what she calls her “weight release” goals.
“I am the best version of Melissa ‘Lizzo’ Jefferson right now. Not because of anything external or superficial, but because of the work that I’ve done on myself as a human being and the life that I’ve lived,” she said. “ I’m really proud of this version of myself. I cannot wait to just show her to the world and for people to get to know me for real this time.”