Lizzo Says Fame Didn’t Make Her ‘Anxiety’ and ‘Depression’ Go Away

If there are two things singer and rapper Lizzo will forever be remembered for, it’s her unique musical talent and how she has systematically dismantled the harmful stereotypes surrounding plus-size women. 

During a cover interview story with Variety, the “Truth Hurts” singer opened up about several topics, including how her life has changed since she became famous and the stereotypes surrounding plus-size women.

Read more to find out.

During the Variety interview, Lizzo was asked about what it’s like to become famous and live under the spotlight. Her reply was, “Fame happens to you. It’s more of an observation of you. People become famous, and it’s like — my DNA didn’t change. Nothing changed about me.” 

She also added, “My anxiety didn’t go away. My depression didn’t go away. The things that I love didn’t go away. I’m still myself. But the way y’all look at me and perceive me has changed. It’s a very weird, kind of formless thing.”

The 33-year-old “Rumors” singer also clarified that she didn’t want to come off as ungrateful, but the topic of how fame has affected her is one that she has previously discussed with her therapist.

She also spoke about how she had to acclimate to the changes and restrictions that fame brought. She said, “Most famous people have been famous just as long as they’ve been a person, so they have acclimated more to it.”

I was going into dive bars and gettings---faced in 2018,” she continued, “And nobody knew who I was, and nobody was bothering me. By 2019, I noticed I couldn’t go to restaurants with my dancers and stuff.”

One of Lizzo’s many projects is an upcoming Amazon Prime show titled Big Grrrls, and in one episode of the show, she opened up about breaking the stereotypes surrounding plus-sized women and their abilities as performers.

Lizzo said, “I don’t think they’re doing it maliciously. I definitely think they’re conditioned to believe that bigger bodies don’t have enough stamina to perform at the level that I do.”

She also added, “For decades, we have been depicted on television and in movies as “lazy,” and huffing and puffing while the other thinner characters are jogging. It’s fine. It’s a stereotype. I ain’t new to stereotypes. But what I’m trying to do is dismantle every stereotype that I have the power to do. I’m destroying them by just living and being incredible all the time.”

Lizzo has definitely not held back in showing the world how much she does not care about plus-size women stereotypes and how much she loves her body. Earlier this month, she shared a clip of her embracing her fully nude body on her Instagram.

She captioned the post with “If you love me… you love all of me. You don’t get to pick and choose. We should be unconditionally loving of one another, starting with being unconditionally loving to ourselves.”

“Take a moment today and think about the conditions we hold so tightly to that keep us from the freedom of true love,” the post continued, “Do you really wanna be so tightly wound? Free yourself in love. You deserve it.”