Originally appeared on E! Online
Content warning: This story discusses suicidal ideation.
Lizzo is speaking out about a dark time.
The “About Damn Time” singer recalled her mental health taking a turn for the worse amid a lawsuit filed by her former dancers, and how it inspired her health and fitness journey.
“I started losing weight in the fall of 2023,” Lizzo, 37, wrote on a Substack post Nov. 23. “I was severely depressed. I had been the subject of a vicious scandal, and it felt like the whole world turned its back on me. I became deeply suicidal.”
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“I cut off all my loved ones. I couldn’t trust anyone because during the scandal,” she continued. “Former close colleagues and friends (who I’d been on pleasant or neutral terms), started to come out and make things up about me. God knows why. I supposed to kick me while I’m down?”
As a result of the pushback she got during the time of the lawsuit—which she shared she was dismissed from in 2024—she was in a period of “extreme isolation” and anger, that she would typically fix with what she described as unhealthy eating habits. That is, until one day she decided to actively take a different approach.
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“But this time I just didn’t feel like doing that,” the Grammy winner wrote. “Not because I thought it would result in my weight loss, but honestly, I didn’t care about my body. I didn’t want to feel safe. So, in my self-loathing and self-neglect I began to rot. As someone who has talked and sang about self-love their entire career, it was hard to watch that happen to myself. And so I decided to turn my extreme inaction to action.”
Lizzo shared that she began her emotional journey with Pilates which she said helped her realize she was just holding on to more than physical weight.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
“After talking to a few therapists I discovered that my weight had been a protective shield, a joyful comfort zone,” she explained. “And even sometimes a super hero suit to protect me through life. My weight, like my hair, represented time. It stored energy. And I wanted to release myself from it.”
“I wanted to change how I felt in my body,” she added. “I had been holding onto so much since my father passed away in 2009. I had been holding onto relationships that were deeply abusive and toxic since 2011. I had been carrying the weight of supporting my family since 2016. I wanted to let-it-the-f–k go.”
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Though Lizzo has gone on a body transformation journey over the last few years, she has remained firm in her personal focus and goals and dedication to advocating for plus size women in a time where the narrative around body positivity is shifting.
“So here we are halfway through the decade, where extended sizes are being magically erased from websites,” she wrote. “Plus sized models are no longer getting booked for modeling gigs. And all of our big girls are not-so big anymore. I am still a proud big girl. Objectively Big. Over 200 pounds. And I love myself as much as I’ve loved myself no matter what the scale says.”
Indeed, Lizzo shared that she is open to doing continued work to help repair her relationship in the movement she’s championed since the start of her career and is optimistic about making more changes in the future.
“I have a lot of work to do to regain the trust of the movement that gave me wings,” she said. “It is work I am willing and ready to do.”
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For on Lizzo’s weight loss journeys, keep reading….
Taking a Step Back
Lizzo has shared that she’s been in on “intentional weight release journey” since 2023.
She had also faced a lawsuit that year, filed by several of her former backup dancers who accused her of creating a “hostile, abusive work environment” and weight-shaming, accusations she vehemently denied.
“With passion comes hard work and high standards,” she wrote on Instagram. “Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it’s never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren’t valued as an important part of the team.”
“I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis, she continued, “and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.”
In between albums at the time, the “About Damn Time” artist announced in August 2024 that she was taking “a gap year & protecting my peace.”
Learning How to Love Me
Lizzo admittedly has her ups and downs when it comes to her body.
“I’m not going to lie and say I love my body every day,” she told The New York Times in April 2024. “The bottom line is, the way you feel about your body changes every single day. There are some days I adore my body, and others when I don’t feel completely positive.”
Looking Good as Hell No Matter What
Dust Your Shoulders Off, Keep It Moving
“When you finally get Ozempic allegations after 5 months of weight training and calorie deficit,” Lizzo quipped via Instagram Sept. 20.
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That Power Looks So Good on Her
Nobody’s Perfect
“I overate yesterday, and I’m feeling really bad about it,” she shared in a Sept. 30, 2024, TikTok while detailing the ups and downs of her journey. “I’m trying to remind myself that my body needs that nourishment and if my body deserves comfort then my brain deserves comfort too.”
She’s Her Own Inspiration
The singer has been all about TikTok fitspo, including one that explained how she pushes through workouts.
“I was doing Stairmaster today, and I was doing a higher level than normal,” the sweat-drenched star explained in October 2024, noting that in order to avoid quitting early, she dropped down to a lower speed. “Sometimes when you want to give up, it’s really just because you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. Don’t give up, just take it easier on yourself.”
Goooooal!!
“I did it,” Lizzo shared on Instagram Jan. 25, 2025. “Today when I stepped on my scale, I reached my weight release goal. I haven’t seen this number since 2014! Let this be a reminder you can do anything you put your mind to. Time for new goals!”
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Hair Tossed, Checked Her Nails…
Lizzo looked hella good in Christian Siriano at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party March 2.
In Her Prime Time
Back in action as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live April 12, 2025.
Massaging the Numbers
On July 3, 2025, Lizzo shared a before-and-after from her first lymphatic massage with Flavia Lanini vs. her latest.
She credited the treatment, which targets specific areas to move excess fluid away from tissues and toward lymph vessels and nodes to flush out toxins, along with wood therapy, training three times a week, pickleball, dancing, drinking water, consuming less sugar and more protein, a monthly detox and various other lifestyle adjustments for her health transformation.
If you or someone you know needs help, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.