Lizzo Says Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Inspired Her Not to ‘Quit Music’ Following Online Body-Shaming
Haters may have tried to tear Lizzo down recently, but Beyoncé‘s music is here to help build her back up. In a vulnerable new TikTok, the “About Damn Time” singer showed fans how Bey’s most recent album, Renaissance, has been helping her rise above a particularly vicious wave of online vitriol.
“Today was one of those days where I was very angry, very angry at the world,” she told her followers Wednesday (May 31) after filming a series of clips from the treadmill, during which she worked up a sweat while jamming out to Renaissance. “Saw a lot of mean s–t about me on the internet, and I wanted to give up.”
The musician was likely referring to a recent incident in which a viral tweet used a video of her dancing onstage to body shame her, under which thousands of people proceeded to leave malicious, fatphobic comments about Lizzo’s appearance. In response, the Grammy winner posted that the bullies were “really starting to make me hate the world” and that she was “tired of explaining myself all the time.”
Though she mostly keeps her Twitter account locked on private, Lizzo also explained that hate posts still show up in her mentions and on her feed. “Y’all don’t know how close I be to giving up on everyone and quitting and enjoying my money and my man on a F–KING FARM…,” she tweeted Wednesday.
But thanks to Queen Bey, Lizzo is feeling a lot better now. “There are days where the hate outweighs the love so badly that I want to quit music and just disappear,” she said. “Then I reminded myself to get up, get out and get some sun. And I put on Renaissance.”
Lizzo went on to list some of her favorite lyrics from the album, which Bey dropped to critical acclaim last summer, and shared how they empower her to stay strong and remember that she is, per her own hit “Truth Hurts,” 100% that b-tch. “I’m gonna love on me, nobody can judge me but me,” she said, quoting Renaissance‘s “Church Girl.” “I was born free.”
The Yitty founder has long been a huge fan of Beyoncé, and has credited the “Break My Soul” singer with inspiring much of her own music. While accepting the 2023 Grammy Award for record of the year in February, she specifically shouted out Bey, who was watching proudly from the audience.
“You changed my life,” Lizzo told her from the stage. “Thank you so much. You clearly are the artist of our lives!”
See Lizzo’s TikTok below:
Hannah Dailey
Billboard
