Lizzo calls out ‘Ozempic era,’ reveals real story behind weight loss: ‘We have a lot of work to do’

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Lizzo shares more of the “deeply suicidal” period in her life that led to her weight loss and mental health journey.

In an era where body positivity is brushing up against the disappearing effects of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, the movement’s most visible champions — including Lizzo — are still figuring out where they fit.

On Sunday, Nov. 23, in an intimate personal essay published on Substack titled “Why is everybody losing weight and what do we do? Sincerely, a person who’s lost weight,” the 37-year-old R&B singer opened up about her mental health, how it kick-started her weight-loss journey in 2023, and how her perspective has shifted over the last two years.

The “Truth Hurts” singer (born Melissa Viviane Jefferson), who says she’s still over 200 pounds and remains a “proud big girl,” used the essay to unpack the mounting societal pressure pushing larger women to shrink. Lizzo wrote that she was “sick and tired” of her identity being “overshadowed” by her weight.

“People could not see my talent as a musician because they were too busy accusing me of making ‘being fat’ my whole personality,” she explained. “I had to actively work against ‘mammy’ tropes by being hypersexual and vulgar because being a mammy by definition is being desexualized.”

“And that’s the reality that nobody wants to talk about,” continued the “About Damn Time” singer. “We’re in an era where the bigger girls are getting smaller because they’re tired of being judged.”

The “Coconut Oil” artist went on to reveal that her own weight loss began in the fall of 2023, during what she describes as a period of profound emotional collapse. In the aftermath of what she called “a vicious scandal” — the high-profile sexual and racial discrimination lawsuit filed against her in August 2023 — the Grammy winner wrote that she became “deeply suicidal,” withdrew from loved ones, and spiraled into a state of complete shutdown.

“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,” she wrote.

Eventually, she said she forced herself to shift. She decided she had to “turn my extreme inaction into action.”

Lizzo also reflected on how her coping mechanisms changed during that time. She admitted that the old version of herself might have binge eaten until she felt sick, but this time the emotional numbness left her detached from any urge to soothe or comfort herself.

“But this time I just didn’t feel like doing that,” she 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. A huge part of me blamed myself for what had happened to me.”

From there, the singer found her way into Pilates and slowly began regaining a sense of stability. As she continued the practice, she shed weight and documented parts of her fitness journey online. But Lizzo emphasized that the physical results weren’t the point — instead, the process exposed just how fraught and polarized conversations about weight have become.

She pointed to the shrinking availability of extended sizes, fewer jobs for plus-size models, and the way “all of our big girls are not-so-big anymore” as evidence that the body positivity landscape has shifted dramatically.

“So here we are halfway through the decade, where extended sizes are being magically erased from websites. Plus-sized models are no longer getting booked for modeling gigs. And all of our big girls are not-so-big anymore,” she reflected. “We have a lot of work to do, to undo the effects of the Ozempic boom.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, self-harm, or other mental health issues, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, or text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

For culturally competent mental health resources please head to Therapy For Black Girls.

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