SZA Shares Her Experience With Anxiety And Sneaking Out Of The 2022 Met Gala

SZA snuck out of The Metropolitan Museum of Art after becoming overwhelmed at the 2022 Met Gala event.

Mental health struggles can get to even the best of people, especially for individuals thrust into the spotlight and under public scrutiny.

The "Doves In The Wind" musician opened up about the experience and her history of battling anxiety in a recent interview.

While speaking to Finish Line Women's Community Voices for their Mental Health Awareness month series, SZA opened up about how the pressures of being an artist in the spotlight negatively impacted her mental health.

The "All The Stars" musician touched on how the comments of online trolls coincide with her thoughts, saying:

"It's weird sometimes when your personal thoughts and feelings align with some of the things people say about you. It's hard not to fall into that weird hole of self-loathing."

On top of that, SZA has been feeling exhausted with her career in the music industry as she faces pressure to release another album following her hugely successful release "Ctrl" in 2017. She explained:

"The physical exhaustion, the mental exhaustion does not come from making music. But the exhaustion really comes from expectations, berating, and dehumanizing from outside forces. And that's— makes me feel like, 'Why am I doing this? Why would I set myself up to be bodied like this on a regular basis?'"

The "Hit Different" singer spoke of her overwhelming experience at the 2022 Met Gala, where she was not a fan of the strapless magenta Vivienne Westwood gown she wore.

The star completed the look with black latex gloves, boots, and a large hat. She admitted:

"I hated my outfit. That was another mental health thing. You want to do your job, you want to show up, and all these people are excited for you to be there, but it's like, 'Damn, I don't feel confident,' or 'I don't feel comfortable,' or it's like, 'Oh, if my dress doesn't fit…."

This led SZA to feel an unhealthy "weird comparison" with other stars. She recalled leaving the event without anyone taking a photo of her, saying:

"I snuck out the back as soon as Lenny Kravitz hit the stage because I was feeling very like, 'Whoa, my anxiety's going crazy, So much so that I couldn't walk down the main steps to exit. I took a cab. I walked like three city blocks with no shoes on…." 

The "Crowd Pleasers" singer described how she tiptoed down a couple of blocks in the city and booked a yellow cab to take her back to her hotel. She said:

"I had too much anxiety to wait for my cab in front of the crowd and take pictures and all those things. I didn't want to do that. So I was looking like a little dirty Cinderella running away with my shoes."

Last October, SZA faced heat from fans who accused her of spreading false claims about a photographer for posting her photos without her consent.

The Blast disclosed that the star tweeted that a man named Edwig Henson DMed her about his intention to publish images of her in a blue bikini though it would mean they never collaborated again.

SZA tweeted, “releasing pictures of me W out my consent is scary," adding that she “never felt more powerless or disrespected” because she never wanted her photos released.

The "I Hate U" singer claimed she did not want to be hyper-sexualized by the media and insinuated the pictures might take the attention off her upcoming album.

Henson took to the app to tell his side of the story. He apologized and noted there was an initial deal to upload the images as his form of compensation.

Although the singer has since deleted the Twitter thread, fans dug out receipts of her posting the images first before calling out the photographer. A fan wrote:

"I’m crying because she literally posted them on her story…. didn’t pay the guy…. and he posted them for exposure (they agreed), and then she decided that she doesn’t want them posted. She has issues and acts if she’s better than everyone.

Another declared, "sza constantly lying like that is also something that’s being swept under the rug a lot."