Lizzo has had the number-one, number-two, and number-three songs in America. So extreme a chokehold on the Billboard Charts, like the Beatles once had all over the world. But the singer whose fame polarizes between those who adore her and those who barely stand her was in quite knots in 2023.
During her appearance on Jay Shetty’s ‘On Purpose’ podcast, the ‘About Damn Time’ singer reflected on the troublesome time when she was slapped with allegations of harassment and toxic workplace environment by her former backup dancers in August 2023. She revealed that her disappearance when the scandal broke out was an already planned break she took to protect her peace.
She went to Japan because she was off-cycle after her album was done, not because she was ‘silenced or hiding.’ “This was planned… I’m in Japan, I’m in the woods, I’m meditating, and oh, this scandal just happened. Where’s Lizzo? So I’m aware of that. I’m cognizant of it, and I’m up for the challenge of explaining this to the people who care about me cause they deserve to know, honestly,” she recalled.
But after she returned to the US, Liso experienced her first panic attack. “When I touched down in Los Angeles, it didn’t hit me how deeply affected I was because I had been trying to be happy for everyone else. I had my first panic attack ever. I was in the car coming home from the airport, and I was like, ‘Something’s wrong with my chest.’ I’ve dealt with anxiety for years, but this felt different,” she said.
Lizzo continued, “And I had this thought, I was just like, ‘Everybody hates me. Everybody hates me for something that isn’t true.’ But at the end of the day, because of the position I’m in, everybody hates me, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” She spoke of being in a ‘dark’ place before retracing how she turned the biggest negative of her life into something gold: “I have learned to use my alchemy and turn it into gold and turn it into meaningfulness and acts of rebellious joy that people can use in the world. That’s my mission.”
Lizzo has denied all allegations of harassment and a toxic workplace environment.
ALSO READ| Lizzo flaunts her unbelievable weight loss transformation in new selfies, leaves fans shell-shocked
