Lizzo Wants To Know The ‘Insidious’ Reasons Why People Are Racist
Lizzo performs onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Lizzo took to Twitter Wednesday (March 8) to address hateful ideals like racism, fatphobia and transphobia. The musician offered her theory as to why such people feel this way: they have never given a reason why. She writes, “I think if we knew ‘why’ these people felt this way there would [be] way less support.” The “2 Be Loved” singer emphasized that the “why” is “more insidious than we realize.”
She added in another tweet: “Don’t get it twisted— I don’t care why people are bigoted. That’s a waste of my imagination.” She called out the “complicit silence” and “apathetic participation” going on that “wouldn’t fly if people knew more.”
One person commented, “The familiarity of the fear they live in is more comfortable than exploring what they don’t understand.” As one fan put it, “it’s always *always* rooted in internalized fears & misperceptions about what things ‘mean’; what it ‘means’ to be man, woman, strong, powerful, right, valuable, exceptional & acceptable. people in their core want to be accepted & what things ‘mean’ is how they discern acceptance.”
Meanwhile, another simply stated: “Most hateful people I know are insecure and actually hate themselves so,” adding a shrugging emoji. One person said, “People lead with love or fear. I honestly believe all hate is based in fear.” Another chimed in, “The why is usually rooted in self hatred and insecurity within themselves and they’ll never admit that.”
Lizzo also reacted to news of Victoria’s Secret infamous fashion show coming back this year. She called out the brand for possibly only having ulterior motives for featuring bigger bodies and more people of color. She acknowledged the win for “inclusivity’s sake.” However, she questioned if the company’s motivations.
Back in 2019, Victoria’s Secret canceled its fashion show after 2018 had the lowest ratings of all time. The brand has also been under fire for not being inclusive.
Lizzo's Historic Crystal Flute Jam Made Some People Mad
Lizzo’s historic performance using a 200-year-old crystal flute in hand has sent the internet in a frenzy. As we earlier reported, the singer and rapper became the first person to play the crystal flute that was made for the 4th U.S. President James Madison in 1813 on Tuesday night (September 27). Lent to Lizzo by the Library of Congress, the flute was crafted by the Parisian watchmaker and mechanic Claude Laurent in 1813, before making its way to Madison.
On a day that the Library of Congress was closed to the public, Lizzo spent an afternoon exploring its massive flute collection and trying out several of the historical instruments.
“She is amazingly talented,” said Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford, who serves as the library’s curator for the flute collection. She said she handed Lizzo more than a half dozen different types of flutes and she could play them all. The library has the largest flute collection in the world.
Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, sent Lizzo an invite via Twitter, writing to the artist, “The @librarycongress has the largest flute collection in the world with more than 1,800,” Hayden tweeted last week. “It incl Pres James Madison’s 1813 crystal flute. @lizzo we would love for you to come see it and even play a couple when you are in DC next week. Like your song they are ‘Good as hell’” with a winking face emoji.
When it came time for her performance, Lizzo told the crowd, “I want everybody to make some noise for James Madison’s crystal flute, y’all! Bitch, I’m scared.” As her very long nails made their way over the instrument, she added to the screaming crowd, “It’s crystal, it’s like playing out of a wine glass, so be patient.” After playing the smoothest note and getting the audience’s approval, Lizzo cheekily sticks her tongue out to the crowd and gets back to playing the crystal flute some more while adding some leg gyrating.
After successfully not dropping the historical artifact, she raised the crystal up with a face of astonishment and happiness before returning it to the Library of Congress people. “Bitch, I just twerked and played James Madison’s crystal flute from the 1800s. We just made history tonight! Thank you to the Library of Congress for preserving our history and making history freaking cool! History is freaking cool, you guys.”
As the Library of Congress assured concerned people, they wrote: “Music Division curators made sure it could be played without damage. This sort of thing is not all that unusual, in fact. Some of the Library’s priceless instruments were donated with the stipulation that they remain functional & be played.”
Lizzo responds to the haters with a “cheeky” tweet:
https://twitter.com/lizzo/status/1575596364058066945?s=20&t=PmNBC0utrJaYQKGfhMXiWA
See how folks on Twitter reacted to Lizzo’s historic performance below:
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.
