Lizzo’s social media fame has seen some highs and lows. From her funny TikTok videos trying mustard on foods such as watermelon to participating in the latest dance trend, the singer is no stranger to showing her face on popular social media apps. However, because of her fearlessness in her body and bold personality, she has faced online criticism from trolls, and time and time again, she has addressed them on her social media platforms.
One instance, in particular, the “Cuz I Love You” singer was called a mammy for her “Rumors” music video and she responded to it in an emotional Instagram Live. But her willingness to address the criticism online is just her showing the many sides of herself and that’s something she wants to be normalized on the internet.
"Social media is so curated, people think that you're supposed to be, like, happy all the time," she told Yahoo! Life’s The Unwind series. "And it's like if you're not happy all the time, why would you show that? But it's like, people act like they don't cry. People act like they're not upset about things. And the fact that I choose to show it is, for me, helpful.”
She continued, “If it's happening to me online, I kind of wanna work it out online too, you know? It's not like a cry for help and it's not to bring any pity. It's more so to just, like, normalize it. So it is helpful for me to work things out on the internet, and I love working things out in my craft and through my creativity.”
Instead of discouraging herself from showing emotion, the 33-year-old musician plans on getting a bag from it.
“How much of me am I willing to give away for free ... to people who don't know what to do with it?” she said. "So I think I've put that boundary on myself and I've been more dedicated to [thinking], 'OK, if you're gonna be emotional, put [it] in the music. If you're sad today, put it in a song, put [it] in a visual, you know, put [it] in a move. So I think I'm gonna let all of my emotions dictate my big moves from now on. I clearly have a lot of them, so maybe I'll have a lot of moves to make."
While expressing herself through her music can be looked at as a form of self-love, here are some other ways Lizzo practices self-care and self-love.
Exercising
"I'll literally be so stressed out or so sad about something and 30 minutes later after doing cardio or calisthenics or weight training or a hike, I'm like, 'Damn, I'm glad I did that. I feel so much better,'” she said. “That's a true reward for me. Sometimes ... the stress that you're feeling, you've got to match that stress with something that's good for you to get it out of your body,” she told Yahoo! Life
Acceptancing Herself
“I don’t think that loving yourself is a choice. I think that it’s a decision that has to be made for survival; 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,” she wrote via NBC News.
Enjoying the Little Things
“Self-care is in the little moments—bathing, sweating, washing your hair. It’s in laughing so hard you can barely catch a breath, your lungs expanding on a morning jog. Now more than ever we need to enjoy the quiet within ourselves,” she wrote on Instagram.
Therapy
“But I finally realized that owning up to your vulnerabilities is a form of strength, and making the choice to go to therapy is a form of strength. It took years for me to get to that point, but I did it last year for my friends and my family. I didn't really do it for myself at first, but because I realized what my emotional condition was doing to my relationships. And I wanted to be a better sister and a better daughter, a better boss, and a better friend,” she wrote via NBC News.
Featured image by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Warner Music