By now you're probably well aware that Lizzo [1] is so much more than a singer. The 31-year-old, born Melissa Jefferson [2], is a powerhouse vocalist and classically trained flutist, yes — but she's also emerged as a beacon of positivity and self-love [3] thanks to her bold, fearless approach to life. She doesn't shy away from addressing important topics like mental health [4] and body image, and she makes sure to lift up those around her (especially marginalized groups like black women and the LGBTQ+ community).
While an incredible performer (I mean, hello, have you seen those moves [5]?!), Lizzo's influence as a change-maker and motivational messenger is what sets her apart. She's finally getting her well-deserved shine, and it's endlessly thrilling. We've rounded some of the realest, most inspiring Lizzo quotes so far — because you know there will be more to come.
On Creating a Movement With Her Music and Message
- "This music is medicine and I'm trying to get it to my sisters. It's so exciting to me to finally be at a level where I have exposure to my Black sisters, my big sisters, my Black trans sisters. It's not about being poppin' [7]. It's not about being famous or fashion. It's about being better and making sure that this world can hear us and respect us."
- "I'm going to become iconic musically [8]. I don't mean in the way all the kids are using it now for everything like, 'Oh, I took a nap. How iconic.' Even though it's valid; naps are iconic. I mean iconic like an icon. Like when you see the go sign or the stop sign, you know what it means."
- "My movement is for everybody. My movement celebrates diversity [9]. It's all about inclusion. It's all about getting our flowers and giving each person their own space to be an individual and speak up for that individuality."
- "I'm really trying to bridge the gap between all of our movements. Allyship is so much deeper than just being cool with someone's life or cool with someone's existence, it's about reaching out a hand and pulling them up [10] and making sure that y'all are walking side by side. And that's what I'm trying to do."
On Mental Health and the Importance of Living in the Moment
- "Reaching out may be hard but as soon as I did it, I was immediately covered in love. I used to think of sadness as a constant with fleeting moments of joy in between . . . but it's a wave. My triggers are: rejection and inadequacy. But I love that I'm more emotionally honest lately. I love that I can use my sadness constructively [11] in real time for gratitude."
- "I also know that there's a stigma around therapy in the black community [12], and there had been for a long time, especially for black women. We're so strong, because of all that we have been put through, and how little we're sought after and looked out for. So, black women end up like, 'I got it. I don't need help. I'm handling this. That's why I tried to be strong for so long.'"
- "It took me a long time to get to this point in my career, but it also took me a long time to get to this point in my life where I can actually appreciate the present moment [13]. It all kind of synced up at the same time. So everything that happens, I'm just getting the full celebration of it."
- "I think I have to figure out how to be satisfied so I don't become this insatiable artist that is never happy. My definition of success has never been pertaining to fame or celebrity or any type of clout or look. It has been more; can I sell out a tour? Can I play Madison Square Garden? Is my music going to help shape the culture and help change people's lives for the better? I'd be happy with this, but I know that there's a lot more to come [14]."
On Staying True to Herself and Being 100 Percent "That B*tch"
- "I made a decision to be myself because I knew I had no choice. Sometimes the label 'unapologetic' bothers me because it can be loaded, because it means we have to apologize for something in the first place. I'm not ignorant to the fact that we had to have a demeanor of lowering ourselves culturally just to exist. But I'm trying to shake up the narrative [15] about how we're supposed to act."
- "I don't think that loving yourself is a choice. I think that it's a decision that has to be made for survival [16]; it was in my case. Loving myself was the result of answering two things: 'Do you want to live? Cause this is who you're gonna be for the rest of your life. Or are you gonna just have a life of emptiness, self-hatred and self-loathing?' And I chose to live, so I had to accept myself."
- "When I have to make decisions, I always choose honesty and I always stay true to myself [17], because I know at the end of the day that is what's going to remain," she says. "That is what's going to be the legend: That I was true to myself and that I honored every person by staying truthful to them."
- "I didn't have enough women to look up to and they weren't given enough space in the industry to carve out a lane for big girls that are brown and black and want to sing and dance without getting sh*t-talked and body shamed. I'm out here and I set my mind to it. I want to be a sex symbol and music goddess and I'm out here trying to make that happen for myself. I'm here for the fantasy but I want to be a part of that fantasy [18]. I'm just as fine as those girls."
On Body Positivity and the Real Meaning of "Self-Care"
- "At a certain point I kind of realized that my body wasn't going to change unless I did something drastic, which I didn't have money [for]. When I started discovering my self-love [19] and trying to be more positive about my body, this was like 10 years ago, and I was broke. I was like, I have no plastic surgery options, there's no crazy dieting options; I've been big my whole life. 'Just deal with it! Just accept your body!' I made a decision that I would eventually be happy about it, and it took a long time. Ten years later, I have a healthy relationship with my body."
- "I say this on-stage to everybody: 'I'm not gonna sell you the commercialized self-love. I'm not gonna sell you the hashtag self-care.' I'm not into that. I feel a responsibility as a pioneer in this wave of body positivity to push the narrative further."
- "I'm excited that treating mental illness and the idea self-care are becoming part of the zeitgeist — but I also don't want it to turn into something that loses its weight or validity. Self-care is more than just going to the spa [20], getting your nails done or drinking a mimosa 'cause it's Sunday.' It is so much deeper than what commercialization is going to try to turn it into."
- "I love creating shapes with my body, and I love normalizing the dimples in my butt or the lumps in my thighs or my back fat or my stretch marks. I love normalizing my Black-ass elbows. I think it's beautiful." [21]
- "Even when body positivity is over, it's not like I'm going to be a thin white woman. I'm going to be black and fat [22]. That's just hopping on a trend and expecting people to blindly love themselves. That's fake love. I'm trying to figure out how to actually live it."