Pop star Lizzo has talked about her weight loss, saying she still thinks she is “big” but that she likes how she looks now.
Born Melissa Viviane Jefferson, 37, the singer is best known for her breakout song Juice which made her synonymous with body positivity, confidence and self-love.
Despite her musicality and Grammy-award winning music, her weight has always been a point of discussion.
Speaking to Women’s Health UK, the singer opened up about how she feels about her body now.
She said: “I like how I look now. I still think I’m big. I’m still wearing plus-size clothing. I have the same rolls. I got the same belly, the same thighs – I think I’m just a smaller version.
“Body positivity has nothing to do with staying the same. Body positivity is the radical act of daring to exist loudly and proudly in a society that told you you shouldn’t exist.”
“Me saying I love myself in 2016 was offensive to people… How dare you love yourself! You are fat and black and you’re a woman, so you shouldn’t love yourself… I had to fight for that (to love myself).
“And now I’m fighting again… It’s OK to release weight. It’s OK to gain weight after you’ve released weight, because what you’re not going to do is shame me if my body changes again and I get bigger.”
She also spoke about her struggles with binge eating, adding that she has now found a “beautiful balance” with food.
She said: “There were times when I would eat so much that my stomach hurt. When I was done, I would be so uncomfortable, I couldn’t breathe and wouldn’t let anyone know. I would hide it.
“I had so much food noise and connected so much emotion to food. If I was sad, anxious, stressed or working a lot, I would snack and just eat constantly.
“I’m so proud of myself for overcoming that.”
This comes after the singer and her production company faced a lawsuit from three of her former dancers in August 2023, accusing her of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.
At the time, the pop singer described the allegations as “gut-wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing”, saying the claims are “as unbelievable as they sound”.
In September 2023, similar allegations were made against Lizzo by stylist Asha Daniels who alleged she was subject to racial and sexual harassment and a hostile work environment while on tour with Lizzo.
A US judge dismissed the specific allegations against Lizzo.
In December 2024, during her first interview on the matter, she said on the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast that the sexual harassment allegation “upsets me the most”, but called the claims “silly” and “ridiculous”.
“I was literally living in my dream and then the tour ended, and three dancers just completely blindsided me with a lawsuit,” she said.
Lawyer Ron Zambrano said in a statement to the PA news agency at the time: “Following up on reporting about comments Lizzo made on a podcast appearance regarding being dismissed from a lawsuit, we just wanted to clarify that Lizzo remains a defendant in the harassment lawsuit filed by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez.”
The full interview can be read in the September issue of Women’s Health UK, out now.
