Lizzo is moving forward with confidence despite ongoing legal battles and personal challenges.
The singer sat down with CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King for an exclusive interview in which she opened up about her new music, weight-loss journey, and her decision to fight a lawsuit filed by three former backup dancers.
Her latest album drops June 5, and Lizzo said she’s in a completely different headspace than she was last year.
She explained why she indefinitely shelved her previous project, Love in Real Life, after two singles failed to chart.
“I think that I have been working on an album and I put a lot of pressure on me for a long time. And I think what I learned last year was like, I’m here to make music. I’m here to give music to my fans,” Lizzo said.
The new album leans heavily into a specific word, “B####” and the title track samples Meredith Brooks’ feminist anthem and a Missy Elliott song.
Lizzo explained her choice to embrace the word.
“I feel like what both of those women did was they pushed that word forward in a way that empowered it instead of taking the power away. Like, that’s a word that used to get hurled at women,” she said.
In 2023, three of Lizzo’s former backup dancers filed a lawsuit alleging a hostile work environment and sexual harassment during her world tour.
One dancer also claimed she was shamed for her weight. The weight-shaming allegation was dismissed, but some sexual harassment claims remain, including allegations that Lizzo pressured dancers to engage with new performers at a burlesque club in Amsterdam. Lizzo is appealing that ruling.
When asked about settling the case, Lizzo was firm in her response.
“I’m fighting the case because I know that it’s not true, just like the fat shaming one is not true. It’s an ongoing case, so I can’t talk about like all the details, but I cannot wait for it to be dismissed,” she said.
If the case goes to trial, Lizzo said she’s prepared to testify. “Absolutely. Absolutely. And I would look fabulous while doing it,” she said.
Lizzo has also been in the news for amazing body transformation and she said losing weight was part of her journey.
“I released the anxiety I was going through. I released depression. And I also released some weight on my body. I’m not a skinny person. I will never present myself as one. I don’t think I could. I mean, if I came out today as a brand new artist with this body, I would still get the same criticisms I got,” she said.
She also addressed rumors about using weight loss medication like GLP-1s.
“This weight release was done with a calorie deficit, cardio, protein. But years ago, I tried a GLP-1 for a little minute, but it did not work for me. I’m scared of needles and it just did not work out for me. So, I just didn’t do it. And so, when I decided to do the weight release journey in 2023, which was years after, I was like, I’m going to have to do it the old-fashioned way,” she said.
Lizzo’s new album is set to drop June 5th.