Lizzo has recalled feeling like her “life was over” amid public backlash three years ago.
In August 2023, three of the Juice hitmaker’s former backup dancers filed a lawsuit against her, her production company, and dance captain Shirlene Quigley, alleging they were subjected to sexual, religious, and racial harassment, among other claims. The case is still pending.
Around the same time, Lizzo – real name Melissa Jefferson – decided to take a hiatus from making music after wrapping up The Special Tour in July 2023.
Reflecting on the low point during an interview for the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast on Monday, the Truth Hurts star recounted how the break came as the “world stopped f**king with me”.
“I was like, ‘Whoa, this feels like my life is over,'” she remembered. “And so, with the fame thing and the success and the public perception being super positive and being overly loved and people understanding me, I wasn’t looking over my shoulder for a shoe to drop because I really genuinely was moving so purely. I really, which they say you shouldn’t do, just really showed the whole world my heart.”
The About Damn Time singer also touched upon the “really heavy” emotions that she faced.
“When everybody started hating me, I kind of didn’t understand… I had experienced little waves of it, but this time after my (Special Tour) ended, it was, like, legitimate. So, I really did feel like my life was over because music had been my life, and I didn’t feel like anyone wanted me to make music anymore,” the 38-year-old continued. “It was really heavy. It’s really heavy. And I think you have to kind of go to a very, very, very, very low place to be able to kind of float back up to the top.”
However, Lizzo insisted she is in a much better frame of mind now.
“You know, what I came to is knowing who you are and not what you do. I feel like I had been identifying myself as what I do for so long, instead of remembering who I am because that’s my job,” she added. “It was extremely freeing because I’m like, ‘Oh, only I know me, only I know who I am and I need to remember that and not allow someone to change that because I can do that too.'”
Lizzo is currently promoting her children’s book, Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin’. Featuring illustrations by Mark Pett, the book is now available for purchase.
