By Peter.
In her debut Substack essay published November 23, 2025, titled “Why is everybody losing weight and what do we do? Sincerely, a person who’s lost weight,” singer Lizzo (37) reflected candidly on her transformation from body positivity icon to intentional weight loss advocate, revealing deep frustration with being defined solely by her size.
“Sick and Tired of My Identity Being Overshadowed”
Lizzo admitted her slim-down—starting fall 2023—was partly fueled by exhaustion from public perception:
“I was sick and tired of my identity being overshadowed by my fatness. People could not see my talent as a musician because they were too busy accusing me of making ‘being fat’ my whole personality.”
She trolled fat jokes and embraced memes but felt “performative” accusations undermined her authenticity as the first mainstream body-positive musician. “Performing being body positive… doesn’t even make sense.”
The Trigger: 2023 Lawsuits and Mental Health Spiral
Weight loss wasn’t initial intent; it stemmed from severe depression after 2023 lawsuits from three ex-dancers (sexual harassment, fat-shaming, hostile environment) and a stylist (racial/illegal work claims during her Big Grrrl Big Tour). Lizzo denied all, but the scandal left her “deeply suicidal,” isolating from loved ones and “rotting” in self-neglect.
Pilates (co-founded by a Black woman) started as therapy; tears post-sessions led to unintended loss. By winter 2023, she committed intentionally, viewing it as “energetic” release—not vanity—from grief (father’s 2009 death), toxic relationships (2011–), and family burdens (2016–). “I wanted to let-it-the-f**k go.”
Ozempic and Cultural Shift: “Plus-Size Women Are Being Erased”
Lizzo, still over 200 lbs and “proud big girl,” credits discipline but admits trying Ozempic/GLP-1 drugs. She laments the “Ozempic boom” erasing plus-size women: Fewer extended sizes, jobs for larger models, and body-positive commodification. “The bigger girls are getting smaller because they’re tired of being judged… Now the bigger girls are being judged from the very community they used to empower.” She calls for undoing the “effects of the Ozempic boom” while affirming: “There’s nothing wrong with living in a bigger body. There’s nothing wrong with being fat.”
Lizzo’s essay—her first on Substack—sparks timely debate on body image, mental health, and cultural pressures in the GLP-1 drug era.
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