Lizzo's Statement About Kamala Harris Presidency Draws Criticism

Pop star Lizzo is facing major backlash after making a bold statement about Kamala Harris' potential presidency.

The 36-year-old singer, who proudly hails from Detroit, sparked an uproar when she claimed that if Harris were elected to the White House, America would resemble her hometown.

Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, made the comments while appearing alongside the Democratic nominee at Western International High School in Detroit, igniting a heated debate across social media.

While addressing the Detroit Economic Club on October 10, Republican nominee Donald Trump issued a stark warning to attendees about the potential consequences of a Kamala Harris administration. "The whole country is going to be like, you want to know the truth? It'll be like Detroit." he said, per Newsweek. "Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she's your president. You're going to have a mess on your hands."

During a Harris campaign event in Detroit on Saturday, the "About Damn Time" singer seemed to address the recent criticism of her hometown. Without directly referencing the remarks, Lizzo appeared to stand up for the Motor City, subtly pushing back against the negative comments surrounding the city's struggles.

"I'm so proud to be from this city, you know they say if Kamala wins then the whole country will be like Detroit," she said. "Proud like Detroit, resilient like Detroit. The same Detroit that innovated the auto industry and the music industry. Put some respect on Detroit's name."

Lizzo fired up the crowd at the event, saying, "If you ask me if America's ready for its first woman president? I only got one thing to say; it's about damn time!"

The singer couldn’t resist referencing her 2022 hit song, "About Damn Time," adding a playful yet powerful nod to her support for Harris.

However, her remarks quickly drew criticism on social media, with many users pointing out that Detroit has struggled with economic decay and decline for decades.

Lizzo's comparison of a Harris-led America to the Motor City left some questioning the intent behind her statement, fueling an ongoing debate online. After the clip went viral on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, one user said, "That was a Trump endorsement if I've ever had one. Lol."

Another person expressed, "Regardless of Lizzo's strenuous efforts to spin it, all that will be ringing in people's subconscious is: 'Kamala will turn America into impoverished, run down, and unsafe, Detroit.'"

A third said, "If Kamala is elected the whole country will look like Detroit. A decimated car industry. A top ten city in crime statistics."

“You don’t want the whole country to be Detroit or California. We are trending in a dangerous path,” one person wrote on X.

Another added, “As someone who lives in Metro Detroit, we do NOT want the whole country to be like Detroit.”

Acknowledging that some people might feel their votes don’t make a difference, Lizzo pushed back against that notion, saying, “If your vote didn’t matter, then voter suppression would not exist. If your vote didn’t matter, they wouldn’t discourage young people from going to the polls."

She added, "If your vote didn’t matter, our parents and our grandparents would not have marched — and fought — for our right to vote.”

Harris had already addressed Trump's remarks about Detroit while campaigning in Las Vegas. Responding to his criticism, Harris defended the city and its resilience, emphasizing the strength of its people and pushing back against the negative narrative Trump had painted.

"My opponent, Donald Trump, yet again has trashed another great American city when he was in Detroit, which is just a further piece of evidence on a very long list of why he is unfit to be president of the United States," she said on October 10.