Lizzo Posted a Self-Love Mantra Clapping Back at Her Detox Backlash

Update, December 16th, 2020: After receiving criticism for posting TikTok videos of herself going through a 10-day detox, Lizzo wants to remind everyone (again!) that she was not trying to lose weight, and her relationship with her body is still a positive one.

In a video posted to Instagram on December 15th, Lizzo provided a voice over mantra explaining both to herself and to her following that we should love our bodies for what they have done and can do for us.

“Your body is perfectly yours, even if it ain’t perfect to anybody else,” her voiceover began over clips of herself showing off her curves. “If you only knew the complexities your body possesses you would be so proud of it. I’m so proud of you. For making it this far in a society that gives us a head start into self-loathing, that hands us a dysmorphic mirror and leaves us desperate to catch up with who we think we should be.”

She continued, I’ve spent so much time in this body and I am no different than you—still struggling to find balance, still trying to mend my relationship with food, my anxiety, my back fat. It gets easier. I’ve spent my hardest days trying to love me.”

She then offered her best advice: Eat, drink, move, rest. Your job is to grow. Your job is to figure it out along the way.

Lizzo then shared a followup Instagram post, further driving home the point that her detox was not harmful, nor was she detoxing in order to see weight loss. “I detoxed my body and I’m still fat. I love my body and I’m still fat. I’m beautiful and I’m still fat,” she wrote. “These things are not mutually exclusive.”

“To the people who look to me, please do not starve yourselves,” she continued. “I did not starve myself. I fed myself greens and water and fruit and protein and sunlight. You don’t have to do that to be beautiful or healthy.”

And as a final reminder, Lizzo wrote, That was my way. You can do life your way. Remember, despite anything anyone says or does ✨DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH YOUR BODY✨.

We’ll be listening to Lizzo’s self-love mantra on repeat for the foreseeable future.

Original Post, December 15th, 2020: After sharing that she was doing a 10-day juice detox with followers on TikTok, Lizzo was called out for promoting unhealthy dieting techniques. However, Lizzo took to the platform to question why her juice cleanse was being viewed through the lens of weight loss when in actuality she was doing the detox in order to improve her digestion and inner health.

Her being called out, she says, shows a problem with the way big girls and their health decisions are viewed by society.

In the video that spurred so much scrutiny, posted to TikTok on December 13th, Lizzo made sure to include multiple disclaimers: “I was practicing safe detox methods w a nutritionist. Do not try without research,” one disclaimer reads. Another in her caption notes, “practice safe detoxification y’all.”

Comments like “this isn’t healthy girl” and “this is not healthy—please don’t try this anyone” began pouring in and fans expressed their disappointment that Lizzo would promote what they felt was a crash diet. “Please don’t promote this!!!!” one user wrote. Another added, “nooo not queen lizzo with the detox bs.”

In a followup video, Lizzo explained that she decided to do the detox routine after she “drank a lot and ate a lot of foods that fucked [her] stomach up in Mexico.” She noted that, for her, the 10-day cleanse was a “reset” for her digestion, noting that the physical results were a nice added bonus. However, this followup didn’t seem to clear the air with many sharing their fear that this type of video “might encourage young people not to eat,” as one follower wrote.

Though others found no issue with her sharing her detox journey, and some even found it very hypocritical that Lizzo is now being shunned for dieting when she’s often shunned on social media for her weight.

Lizzo wanted to set the record straight, uploading yet another explainer video to TikTok on December 14th captioned, “Big girls do whatever u want with your bodies!!! I’m just as proud of my results from my smoothie detox as I am of my belly curves and swerves.”

I would normally be so afraid and ashamed to post things like [a detox cleanse] online because I feel like, as a big girl, people just expect if you are doing something for health you’re doing it for a like dramatic weight loss, she said in her TikTok video. And that is not the case.

“In reality, November stressed me the fuck out,” she continued. “I drank a lot, I ate a lot of spicy things and things that fucked my stomach up. I wanted to reverse it and get back to where I was. I’m so proud of myself. I’m proud of my results. My sleep has improved, my hydration, my inner peace, my mental stability, my fucking body, my fucking skin, the whites of my eyes, I feel and look like a bad bitch, and that’s it.”

“I’m a big girl who did a smoothie detox and I wanted to share that with you guys,” she continued. “I got exactly what I wanted out of it and every big girl should do whatever the fuck they want with their bodies.”

Though both sides of the argument are completely valid, Lizzo was extremely clear in her videos that her detox, done with the help of a nutritionist, was not for weight loss, nor is she actively trying to lose weight. Yes, some who dislike the promotion of detoxes will disagree with her sharing her journey on social media simply due to the fact that so many will disregard her reasoning and see it as a weight loss quick fix.

However, others, including Lizzo, see the backlash as completely unwarranted and yet another example of big girls—specifically, big Black girls—being discouraged from being big, healthy, and happy in their own skin.

The entire upset could have been avoided if Lizzo decided to keep the detox off social media. But in her opinion, and in keeping with transparency, Lizzo wanted to take her followers along for the ride and show them that making decisions to maintain and “reset” health can be done safely and that detoxing doesn’t always mean rapid weight loss.

Nonetheless, she sparked an interesting conversation that needed to be had no matter which side of the aisle you stand on.