Pop star Lizzo talks about her weight loss and says 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.
Advertisement
Despite her musicality and Grammy-award winning music, her weight has always been a point of discussion.
Lizzo on the cover of Women's Health UK (Caleb & Gladys/Women's Health/PA)
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.'
Advertisement
'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.'
Lizzo in Women's Health UK (Caleb & Gladys / Women's Health)
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.
Advertisement
'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'.
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
5 minutes ago
- The Sun
Paddy McGuinness can't flog £6.5m mansion he shares with ‘unhappy' ex wife Christine who wants to move out
TELLY star Paddy McGuinness and his ex-wife Christine are struggling to flog the £6.5million home they share. The comic, 51 — known for catchphrase 'No likey, no lighty!' on dating show Take Me Out — has had 'very little interest' in the mansion. 2 He and Christine, 37, still live in the seven-bedroom Cheshire spread — now on the market for 4½ months — with their twins Leo and Penelope, 12, and eight-year-old daughter Felicity. It featured on their 2021 BBC show Paddy And Christine McGuinness: Our Family And Autism. Despite remaining in the house together to co- parent, Christine is reportedly unhappy with the current living situation and wants to move out. She and Paddy paid £2.1million for the home in 2020 and it has a gym, his and hers dressing-rooms, an orangery and planning permission for a rear extension and roof terrace. They stand to make a big profit but sources say it's quite a pricey house even for posh Prestbury in east Cheshire. One said: 'It's a lovely house with all mod cons in a fantastic location but there's been very little interest. 'It's the most expensive house in Prestbury on Rightmove but it appears the market's a bit flat right now.' Paddy and Christine announced their split in 2022 and finalised their divorce last year. Christine has said: 'We live in separate parts of the house.' Paddy said the family's living arrangement 'doesn't feel tricky'.
Telegraph
5 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Oasis fan who fell to his death at Wembley ‘slipped on beer'
An Oasis fan who fell to his death at the one of the band's Wembley gigs may have slipped on spilt beer, his father has claimed. Lee Claydon, 45, fell from the upper tier of the stadium on Saturday, moments after the band had finished their gig. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him but he died at the scene. It is believed Mr Claydon, a landscape gardener from Bournemouth, may have fallen as concertgoers were beginning to leave the stadium. Clive Claydon, his father, told The Sun his son was 'super excited' to be attending the Oasis reunion tour, having bought tickets a year ago. Mr Claydon snr, who was not at the concert, said he had been told his son's death was an 'accident waiting to happen'. He added: 'There was beer all over the floor, it was really slippery, and Lee just slipped and fell. 'I've been told that it was an accident waiting to happen. It was a horrible, horrible accident. 'All I really know is there was beer everywhere, he slipped, and we don't know the rest of it. 'I wasn't there so I don't know what happened, but it will all come out. I am so devastated. 'I can't understand how it happened, I've never been to Wembley, but you would expect the health and safety to be good. 'He has never taken drugs in his life and he may have had a beer. Who doesn't at a concert? But he certainly was not drunk. 'I want answers from Wembley about how it could have happened.' The Metropolitan Police have appealed for witnesses to contact them if they have any information or footage of the incident. A spokesman said: 'At around 22.19 on Saturday Aug 2, officers on duty at Wembley Stadium for the Oasis concert responded alongside venue medics and the London Ambulance Service to reports that a person had been injured. 'A man - aged in his 40s - was found with injuries consistent with a fall. He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. 'The stadium was busy, and we believe it is likely a number of people witnessed the incident, or many knowingly or unknowingly have caught it on mobile phone video footage.' A Wembley Stadium spokesman said: 'Wembley Stadium medics, the London Ambulance Service and the police attended to a concert-goer who was found with injuries consistent with a fall. 'Despite their efforts, the fan very sadly died. Our thoughts go out to his family, who have been informed and are being supported by specially trained police officers. 'The police have asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them.'
The Sun
5 minutes ago
- The Sun
Five years ago, BBC promised to clean up its act… here's why it still hasn't learned lessons with more scandals coming
MILLIONS of viewers last night witnessed the warped spectacle of two men fronting a BBC show they had both been sacked from – one amid claims of sleazy behaviour, the other for alleged racist language. Yes, Gregg Wallace and John Torode were both back on our prime-time screens as the pre-recorded series of MasterChef aired. 6 6 Which was a staggering turn of events given that this cookery contest had served up the latest scandal to hit the corporation. I'm sure the Beeb would have gladly binned the whole thing and pretended it never happened. Instead, it took the divisive decision to air the show, a resolution born out of the corporation constantly sticking itself between a rock and a hard place. Always hamstrung If it had shelved it, 60 budding chefs would have had their hopes dashed and may even have sued the producers. If the BBC ran the show, it provided a platform for two presenters who were forced out under a massive cloud. So it went for the latter and is now under fire from all quarters. But, as with so many other examples of Beeb controversies, it was another case of Broadcasting House execs staggering from one self-induced crisis to another. The organisation is riddled by cliques, hierarchies, dogma and hypocrisy (all of which should not exist in such a liberal, egalitarian body). As a result, it is always hamstrung whenever a problem rears its head. The MasterChef debacle was all about behaviour that dated back years and yet the Beeb only just dealt with it now. Fury as Glastonbury crowd chants 'death to the IDF' during Bob Vylan set aired live on BBC But it is the same story with the Huw Edwards affair, the investigation into Strictly's Giovanni Pernice and now complaints about the behaviour of BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty. With a bizarre reverence for talent, the knotweed of questionable conduct is not nipped in the bud. Instead it is allowed to fester and, in some cases, spread. Bobby Vylan's antisemitic rant at Glastonbury was a perfect example of a situation where the whole country asks of its national broadcaster: 'How on EARTH could you have let this happen?' Which is why when this week we learned of accusations of drug-taking on a family show like Strictly, there was no surprise. Just further disappointment. Five years ago, when Tim Davie became Director-General, he made a pledge that the Beeb would clean up its act amid a string of similar controversies, but far from having learned lessons, it is like nothing had ever happened. 6 6 It all seems so inexplicable, too. The BBC broadcast of rapper Bobby Vylan's antisemitic rant at Glastonbury was a perfect example of a situation where the whole country asks of its national broadcaster: 'How on EARTH could you have let this happen?' The mire is certainly not down to a lack of resources. Deep inside the Beeb's annual report was an interesting statistic that highlighted that its spend on staff pay has shot up by £66million in a year. Figures also reveal that the number of 'senior leaders' earning more than £250,000 also rocketed by nearly 60 per cent. Meanwhile, the report showed that although the corporation says it faces 'tight finances' and 'rising costs', its total spend on 'salaries and wages' rose from £1.25billion to £1.32billion. That is an increase of more than five per cent — or the equivalent cost of nearly 400,000 current TV licences. The BBC's problem is not just rooted in it getting things wrong, either. It is the perception of its actions that sees it shoot itself in the foot. My own experience of the Beeb, as The Sun's TV Editor, is that whenever there is a whiff of controversy, it deals with things in a very prescriptive way. Too prescriptive. When we have discussed controversies surrounding individuals on shows produced by Banijay, who make MasterChef for BBC One, corporation PRs say it is solely for the production company to deal with queries. But they are independent companies who are not obliged to the Press quite like the Beeb is. Rebuild trust That is despite the fact we end up watching these shows, and the individuals involved, on the BBC. Tim Davie himself, in dealing with the MasterChef fallout, stated unequivocally: 'If someone is found to not live up to the values, we expect the independent company, Banijay in this case, to take action and report back to us on what they have done. Tim Davie recently said that the MasterChef scandal had convinced him the corporation had to 'draw a line in the sand' when it came to bad behaviour. But lines can blur and sands always shift 'These aren't BBC employees, but we absolutely expect action to be taken.' But if the Beeb is to ensure production companies are transparent and proactive with it, it should also insist they act similarly with the media. That is another way that public trust can be rebuilt. Davie recently said that the MasterChef scandal had convinced him the corporation had to 'draw a line in the sand' when it came to bad behaviour. But lines can blur and sands always shift. So the Director-General is going to have to do a lot better than that. 6 6
