Lizzo never fails to defy conventional beauty standards and encourages women to love and accept themselves. The Grammy Award-winning singer is known for her chart-topping hits and unapologetically living her best life. It’s no surprise that she was picked to grace the cover of People’s Women Changing the World edition.
People interviewed Lizzo about finding her power and her body idol status, in addition to her cover, which showcases breathtaking close-up images of the “Truth Hurts” singer.
“I think I have a really hot body!” she told People. “And I’m embracing that more and more every day.”
The powerful belter goes on to say that she’s had to establish her own definition of beautiful.
“And what I’m doing is stepping into my confidence and my power to create my own beauty standard,” she said. “And one day that will just be the standard.”
Her self-assurance shines through in everything she does, especially her Instagram images, which capture her true self. On Feb. 5, the singer tagged a naked photo she posted to her Facebook “Art,” to which many people responded positively, while others, predictably, were critical.
“I had to blaze a trail,” Lizzo said of the way she moves through her career and life. “There was no Lizzo before Lizzo.”
In the cover story, the “Juice” singer also discusses her childhood. Lizzo was born Melissa Viviane Jefferson in Houston, Texas, and was reared by parents who were open about the difficulties of being Black in America.
“I don’t think my dad wanted to tell us about the gruesome murders that happen to Black people all the time,” she said. “But Black parents have this responsibility to let their children know what can happen. They taught me at a very young age how America treats Black people. How it treats Black women. And I saw very quickly how we treat fat people.”
Lizzo took this insight and confronted it in her songs.
While the artist is proud to deconstruct traditional beauty standards, she is tired of the body-shaming language.
“Okay, we all know I’m fat,” she said. “I know I’m fat. It doesn’t bother me. I like being fat, and I’m beautiful and I’m healthy. So can we move on? ”
The singer has amassed a slew of awards and millions of followers, and she knows she’s deserving of them.
“I deserve the spotlight,” Lizzo continued. “I deserve the attention. I’m talented, I’m young, I’m hot. You know? And I’ve worked hard.”
Lizzo’s cover girl appearance follows her appearance on iHeartRadio’s Living Black! Black excellence was on full show during the occasion. Lizzo grabbed the evening with a moving performance of her song “If You Love Me,” which embodied the essence of the singer and her new version.
“BLACK BEAUTY QUEENS. WE LOVE YOU. WE SEE YOU. AND YOU DESERVE TO BE PROTECTED,” she captioned a post of the performance.
