Lizzo is her own worst enemy — and it’s hurting her career
Lizzo’s truth hurts.
The Grammy-winning musician rose to fame with a message of female empowerment and body positivity, proudly showcasing her own larger body.
Then, she was abruptly canceled in the summer of 2023 after bombshell accusations of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.
Now, she’s struggling to make a comeback, befuddling and potentially alienating fans with erratic behavior and contradictory messages.
“She’s charting her path forward in a way that’s not definitive,” said Kayla Larosa, who runs the pop culture commentary YouTube channel KaylaSays, where posts have included “How The Internet Fell Out of Love with Lizzo.” “[It] may be confusing for fans.”
In an Instagram post this past August, Lizzo said she was going to be getting away from the spotlight for a time.
“I’m taking a gap year & protecting my peace,” she wrote in a caption with a picture of herself in a swimsuit standing on a balcony overlooking the treetops in Bali.
Then, this past Monday, she contradicted herself at Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Fortune’s Deputy Editorial Director Ellie Austin quizzed her about the supposed sabbatical, and Lizzo, 36, dismissed the notion.
“Gap year? Girl, who said gap year? I’ve just been working, working, working. You may not see me, but I’ve been working,” she said, before declining to address the elephant in the room: the lawsuits filed against her by former employees.
“This isn’t the space,” she said.
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Lizzo’s big break came in 2019 with her third studio album, “Cuz I Love You.” It won three Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Solo Performance for “Truth Hurts,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and became a viral hit.
“Lizzo’s music around that time was in the feel-good, positivity category. At the time there was something really earnest and endearing about it. And something really earnest and endearing about her as a performer,” Larosa said.
Her success continued with her next album, 2022’s “Special.”
“In case nobody told you today/You’re special,” she sang on the title track, establishing herself as a beacon of self-love. “I’m so glad that you’re still with us/Broken, but damn, you’re still perfect (perfect).”
It won the Grammy for Record of the Year with “About Damn Time” and received four other Grammy nominations.
Her reality competition show, “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” was released in 2022 on Amazon Prime Video and showcased diverse bodies to great success, winning three Emmy Awards.
That same year, Lizzo launched her own shapewear line, Yitty, with corsets, bodysuits and sculpting dresses made to show off a wide array of sizes.
But the supposedly empowering house that Lizzo built came tumbling down in August 2023, when three of her former tour dancers — Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez — filed a lawsuit against Lizzo and her Big Grrl Big Touring Inc.
They alleged sexual misconduct and hostile workplace conditions.
In one bombshell claim, they said that Lizzo pushed them to go to a live sex show while in Amsterdam, then pressured them to participate in the show, including “eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas,” according to the suit.
Davis also alleged in the suit that Lizzo had called attention to her gaining weight and body shamed her.
The “Good As Hell” singer deemed the claims false, dismissing them as “outrageous,” “sensationalized stories.” But the damage was done.
Days after the allegations dropped, the Jay-Z-launched Made In America Festival, scheduled for Sept. 2, 2023, in Philadelphia, was canceled. Lizzo and SZA were slated to headline.
“Sponsors backed out. It just imploded on itself,” a music industry insider close to the situation told The Post. “People were quick to separate herself from her.”
The source noted that it was telling that the festival did not back Lizzo.
“The whole festival was canceled. Money lost — millions of dollars — tickets had to be reimbursed,” they said.
In September 2023, Asha Daniels, a clothing designer and stylist who once worked for Lizzo, also sued the musician over alleged racial and sexual harassment by members of her management team, along with claims of a hostile work environment.
In December, Lizzo’s lawyer filed an objection in Los Angeles Superior Court, calling Daniels’ claims a “meritless and salacious action after less than three weeks of employment,” claiming she “refused to comply with instructions from her supervisors and tour management.”
A Los Angeles judge, meanwhile, put the suit filed by Lizzo’s three former back up dancers on pause this past March, pending an appeal by Lizzo.
Around that same time, Lizzo told fans in a statement on Instagram, “I quit.”
“I’m constantly up against lies being told about me for clout & views . . . I didn’t sign up for this s–t — I QUIT.”
Then, days later, Lizzo claimed in a video on Instagram that her “I Quit” statement was not about the music industry but rather, to stop “giving any negative energy attention.”
Her career has suffered greatly with the volatility.
In the 14 months since the first lawsuit was filed, Lizzo has lost nearly 13.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify — a 55% decline — according to data obtained by The Post from Beats + Bytes and Chartmetric’s Stat Of The Week Newsletter.
Her TikTok following has dropped by nearly 1.2 million followers, and she’s lost 1.9 million followers on Instagram.
“The lack of music fans discussing her or her work, meaning she is currently out of mind and out of sight for the general music consumer, represents a significant hurdle for Lizzo and her team as they aim to push her towards a musical comeback,” Clayton Durant, founder of the music consulting firm CAD Management and adjunct professor at Long Island University’s Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment, told The Post.
In the last 90 days, Durant noted the top 16 rising related search queries for Lizzo on Google Trends are “Is Lizzo alive?” and “Where is Lizzo?”
Adding to the mixed messaging is the fact that Lizzo, known for embracing her body and promoting a message of inclusivity, has recently lost a significant amount of weight — and fans have been quick to take note.
“Did she use ozempic or did she snort coke,” one user remarked on the singer’s Instagram last month.
Lizzo has denied the rumors that she was on a weight-loss drug.
“When you finally get Ozempic allegations after five months of weight training and calorie deficit,” she wrote in an Instagram post in September, attempting to shut down the chatter around her shrinking body.
If Lizzo is to make a comeback, the insider said that authentically connecting with fans and getting back to her music are key.
“She might put up singles and play small shows and do-pop ups where she’s playing in the middle of the street, Ed Sheeran-style when all the stuff was going on with his music catalog. She’ll [have] start to play fast and loose with how she reaches fans. Not the traditional route,” they said.
But, the insider noted, Lizzo’s core audience is still there if she makes a consistent effort to connect with them.
“Her fans never went anywhere,” they said. “Her fan base never canceled her.”
The Post has reached out to Lizzo for comment.
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