Lizzo Opens Up About Mental Health Struggles in New Interview
Three-time Grammy winner Lizzo discusses battling social anxiety, adjusting to life in the spotlight, and overcoming social media hate in a recent Variety interview. During her interview with the magazine, the 33-year-old “Rumors” singer got candid about the dark side of fame that is often overlooked.
“People become famous, and it’s like — my DNA didn’t change,” she claimed, “Nothing changed about me.” “My anxiety didn’t go away,” she added, “My depression didn’t go away.”
Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, struggled with anxiety growing up — and the spotlight only made it worse. Before she rose to fame, she would surround herself with “girl groups,” believing she was unworthy of taking up space on her own terms. When she finally started to perform alone, this mindset made her anxiety skyrocket, and she found herself questioning her success.
“Nobody wants to look at just me,” she would think, “I don’t deserve to have space up here. Why would I be seen as a star?”
The singer’s anxiety-fueled her performances: the more anxious she was, the bigger she would perform. However, she quickly realized this method wasn’t sustainable. Then, she found a solution: backup dancers. And they weren’t just any backup dancers. They were dancers who looked like her. “There’s a sisterhood there, having the big girls,” she stated.
Many celebrities have spent most of their lives under the spotlight’s harsh glare, but not Lizzo. She could get drunk at bars alone and unbothered in 2018; in 2019, she couldn’t even go to restaurants with her dancers. “It was sad, and I had to talk to my therapist about the loss of who I was,” she revealed.
She’s come to terms with her new life, but there is one unsettling facet she finds hard to accept. In the age of social media, the spread of bigotry and hatred is easier than ever. While the singer and songwriter often appears to be as confident as they come, she admits there was one specific comment that “broke” her.
“It was something about me and who I am as an artist and what I represent,” she told Variety, “And it was very f*cking racist and very, very harmful.” In tears, she took to Instagram Live to explain what had happened. As someone who normally kept their emotions bottled inside, she felt free when she finally decided to speak her mind.
This particular incident is in the third episode of “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” Lizzo’s debut television series coming to Prime Video on March 25th. Read more about her thoughts on her series and other issues in the full Variety feature here.
