The 'About Dame Time' hitmaker believes that she faces backlash because the trolls want to criticize whatever she's doing because there's levels to her that 'they don't accept.'
- Jul 15, 2022
AceShowbiz - Lizzo has learned to accept that her critics will always use her for a "punchline or joke." The "About Damn Time" hitmaker has faced backlashes since her rapid descent into the spotlight simply because of how she chooses to "exist."
Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, she said, "I've noticed that once people knew who I was, because before it was discovery, it was like, 'Who is this? Who is that?' And then once people knew who I was and it became kind of solidified, they became more comfortable with using me as some sort of punchline or joke."
"Or immediately they want to criticize whatever I'm doing because there's levels to me that they don't accept," she continued. "So I've found that I'm always going to receive some sort of backlash or criticism whenever I put myself in a public space, just because of who I am and the way I choose to exist."
The "Juice" hitmaker admits it can be hard to "escape" the noise online but she tries her best to block out the haters. She added, "I'm trying to distance myself from even looking at those people and reading those comments. It's been very difficult because I just feel I can't escape it."
The 34-year-old star recently revealed she had to see a therapist after becoming famous.
The "Truth Hurts" singer shot to fame when her third album "Cuz I Love You" became a surprise hit in 2019, and she has since gone on to enjoy massive success as the winner of three Grammy Awards. However, because her rise to fame was so meteoric, she needed therapy.
"I don't want to seem ungrateful. It was sad, and I had to talk to my therapist about the loss of who I was," she said. "Most famous people have been famous just as long as they've been a person, so they have acclimated more to it. I was going into dive bars and getting s***faced in 2018."
Lizzo further recalled, "And nobody knew who I was, and nobody was bothering me but by 2019, I noticed I couldn't go to restaurants with my dancers and stuff." She went on,"I had to call security, and they had to call a car, and we had to sit and wait. And I was like, 'Damn. I'm just a burden to my friends, and things are different now.' "
Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, went on to explain that "nothing changed" about her when she found fame and that she still suffers from anxiety and depression despite her celebrity status.
"Fame happens to you, and it's more of an observation of you. People become famous, and it's like -- my DNA didn't change. Nothing changed about me. My anxiety didn't go away. My depression didn't go away. The things that I love didn't go away," Lizzo shared. "I'm still myself. But the way y'all look at me and perceive me has changed. It's a very weird, kind of formless thing."
