Lizzo Tells Her Fans She is "The First Big Black Woman"

Lizzo is telling fans that she is proud to be what she calls "the first big Black woman" to be on the cover of Vogue. The artist is the face of the magazine's October issue with the cover line: Lizzo On Hope, Justice, and Election 2020. Lizzo, a Grammy Winning Double-Platinum artist who reached superstardom in 2019, is often outspoken on her social feed about her inclusive approach to life and she has posted in the past about issues related to body positivity, eating vegan and not letting others define her. Yesterday she was at it again, touting the accomplishment of her Vogue cover as a proud moment: "I am the first big black woman on the cover of @voguemagazine. The first black anything feels overdue. But our time has come. To all my black girls, if someone like you hasn’t done it yet— BE THE FIRST."

Lizzo Shares a Powerful Message in the Vogue Issue

In the issue, Lizzo says: “I think it’s lazy for me to just say I’m body-positive at this point. It’s easy. I would like to be body-normative. I want to normalize my body. And not just be like, ‘Ooh, look at this cool movement. Being fat is body positive.’ No, being fat is normal. I think now, I owe it to the people who started this to not just stop here. We have to make people uncomfortable again, so that we can continue to change. Change is always uncomfortable, right?”

Over the summer, the star announced on TikTok that "being vegan is easy" and she shows her favorite recipes as she cooks up comfort food and treats like dairy-free ice cream bread, Jamaican "beef" patties, and spicy "McChicken" sandwiches. Lizzo has also delighted her fans by sharing her favorite vegan brands. "So since being vegan I've found that I eat a lot of meat substitutes, whether it's tempeh or jackfruit or Beyond burger or whatever," Lizzo admits. "So, I'm going to try to be raw for a little bit to try to get a sense of pure, raw veganism. I ordered these raw meals from Rawvolution. They're good! This is an apple and beet salad and it has the vinegary taste... it's not just sweet. It's so good and crunchy and its a lot! This raw vegan lifestyle... get into it!"

"I am glad that this conversation is being included in the mainstream narrative"

Lizzo continues to say that her message is about inclusivity, not about body image. It’s commercialized. Now, you look at the hashtag ‘body-positive,’ and you see smaller-framed girls, curvier girls. Lotta white girls. And I feel no ways about that, because inclusivity is what my message is always about. I’m glad that this conversation is being included in the mainstream narrative. What I don’t like is how the people that this term was created for are not benefiting from it. Girls with back fat, girls with bellies that hang, girls with thighs that aren’t separated, that overlap. Girls with stretch marks. You know, girls who are in the 18-plus club. They need to be benefiting from... the mainstream effect of body positivity now. But with everything that goes mainstream, it gets changed. It gets—you know, it gets made acceptable.”

Back in June, Lizzo posted exercise videos on TikTok and told body shammers they need to work on themselves. In that video she shows herself working out in different days and outfits that clearly show she is committed to being fit, healthy and strong and says: "So I've been working out consistently for the past five years. And it might come as a surprise to y'all that I’m not working out to have your ideal body type, I’m working out to have my ideal body type. And you know what type that is? None of your f**king business, because I am beautiful, I am strong, I do my job and I stay on my job." She adds, "so next time you want to come to somebody and judge them, whether they drink kale smoothies or eat McDonald's, or workout or not workout, how about you look at your own f**king self and worry about your own self because health is not just determined by what you look like on the outside but who you are on the inside. So how about you look at your own self and a lot of yall have to a f**king cleanse for your insides. Namastay. Have a great day."