Lizzo Addresses Accusations She Makes Music For White Audiences

Lizzo is opening up about some of the criticism she receives as a proud body positivity icon and a Black woman who gets accused of making music for a white audience.

The Grammy Award winner admitted the flak she gets over who she makes music for “is probably the biggest criticism I’ve received.”

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Lizzo explained during her interview with Vanity Fair, “It is such a critical conversation when it comes to Black artists. When Black people see a lot of white people in the audience, they think, ‘Well this isn’t for me, this is for them.’ The thing is, when a Black artist reaches a certain level of popularity, it’s going to be a predominantly white crowd.”

However, the “Truth Hurts’ singer acknowledged this isn’t a modern phenomenon but something Black artists have endured for decades.

“This has happened to so many Black artists: Diana Ross, Whitney, Beyoncé.… Rap artists now, those audiences are overwhelmingly white. I am not making music for white people. I am a Black woman, I am making music from my Black experience, for me to heal myself from the experience we call life. If I can help other people, hell yeah.

She went on to explain Black people “need self-love and self-love anthems,” more than most as the most marginalized and neglected people in this country. Lizzo added she makes music for girls who look like her, who were picked on for their looks. “It blows my mind when people say I’m not making music from a Black perspective—how could I not do that as a Black artist?” she asked.

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Lizzo On Being A Body Positivity Icon

She also discussed the image of Black women in the media who, according to Lizzo, are “hyper-sexualized” yet “masculinized simultaneously.”

When asked if she tires of the “body positivity” discourse surrounding her, Lizzo said she always expected it. However, she doesn’t care if her music and weight are “so intrinsically connected,” that losing weight means losing fans. The Detroit-born artist went on to explain she leads “a very healthy lifestyle,” and prioritizes her health.