Wildly famous musician, entrepreneur and TV host Lizzo has long been known for her intensely candid presence both in person and via social media. Her remarks via the latter—Instagram, to be exact—sent shock waves across the internet Saturday morning, as it appears she’s ready to quit.
But what, exactly, she’s planning on quitting is uncertain.
In a grid post (that’s right, not the more ephemeral “stories” function of the app) published Friday evening, the polymath wrote, “I’m getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet.”
All I want is to make music and make people happy and help the world be a little better than how I found it. But I’m starting to feel like the world doesn’t want me in it. I’m constantly up against lies being told about me for clout & views… being the butt of the joke every single time because of how I look… my character being picked apart by people who don’t know me and disrespecting my name.”
The artist, whose birth name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, did not give specific details regarding the situations she cited in the post, and representatives for Lizzo did not respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comment by publication time. However, it’s possible she’s referring to the furor over a lawsuit filed last August by three of her former dancers in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
According to the suit, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez alleged that they suffered disability discrimination, assault, and sexual and religious harassment while working with the singer. Former Lizzo employees voiced their support of the lawsuit, and documentarian Sophia Nahli Allison, who had been hired to make a documentary about the singer, admitted that she’d walked away from the project after allegedly witnessing “how arrogant, self-centered, and unkind [Lizzo] is.”
Lizzo has previously defended herself from those allegations, saying via Instagram that “The sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”
“My work ethic, morals, and respectfulness have been questioned,” she wrote in the August, 2023 post regarding the claims. “My character has been criticized. Usually I chose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed.”
Since then, much of the chatter has appeared to have died down, and the singer was even the subject of a glowing interview regarding her new swimwear line in the New York Times earlier this week. In the discussion, Lizzo questioned the use of the term “body-positivity,” suggesting that it had fallen out of favor with those who believe in fashion inclusivity.
“The idea of body positivity, it’s moved away from the antiquated mainstream conception,” she said. “It’s evolved into body neutrality.”
Though the interview did not address the online commentary every woman in the public eye experiences regarding her body, Lizzo did note that “My body is nobody’s business.” It’s possible that we see an echo of that final stance in the conclusion of this weekend’s post from the singer, as she ended the Instagram announcement saying “I didn’t sign up for this shit — I QUIT,” followed by the emoji for the peace sign (peacing out, perhaps?).
Fans were quick to respond with their support, including actor Sophia Bush, who commented “The internet isn’t real life. Protect you. We love you.” Holly Robinson Peete also commented, writing in part that she needed to “shut out the noise,” while Queen Latifah commented, “F that do you.”
Eve Batey
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