Lizzo has expressed pride on seeing a South Park episode dedicated to her, saying: “I really showed the world how to love yourself.”
The singer filmed herself watching the episode of the long-running satirical comedy entitled The End of Obesity, which features a storyline in which listening to her music is prescribed as an alternative to expensive new weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic.
In a deadpan opening to the video, she said: “Guys, my worst fear has been actualised: I’ve been referenced in a South Park episode.”
In the clip she watches, an advert for the treatment boasts its benefits: “Lizzo makes you feel good about your weight … 70% of patients on Lizzo no longer cared … Lizzo helps you eat everything you want and keep physical activity to a minimum.”
The singer has long been a proponent of self-acceptance, celebrating her body with lascivious outfits and lyrics, and performing with a troupe of plus-size dancers. She has previously lambasted society for its treatment of overweight people, telling the Guardian in 2018: “People don’t know how to love themselves, because they were trying to look like the motherfucker [corporations] were selling them.”
Contrary to the South Park joke, she has also championed physical activity, frequently filming her own workouts and celebrating it in the track Fitness.
The South Park clip isn’t particularly kind to her music, saying that side-effects of listening to it may include “literally shitting out your ears”.
But after watching the clip, Lizzo said proudly: “I’m really that bitch. I really showed the world how to love yourself and not give a fuck, to the point where these men [South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone] in Colorado know who the fuck I am, and put it on their cartoon that’s been around for 25 years … I show you how to not give a fuck and I’ll keep showing you how to not give a fuck.”
In March, she explained to the New York Times how her stance has evolved beyond the term “body positivity”, saying: “The idea of body positivity, it’s moved away from the antiquated mainstream conception. It’s evolved into body neutrality … My body is nobody’s business.”
She has long endured toxic comments for her weight, and in March complained of “being the butt of the joke every single time because of how I look”.
Lizzo is also currently facing two lawsuits from former employees who allege sexual harassment, racial discrimination and a hostile work environment, which she denies.
Lawyers for Lizzo have called one of the lawsuits “a bogus, absurd publicity stunt”, while Lizzo herself described the other as having “sensationalised stories … from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behaviour on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional”.
In February, a judge blocked Lizzo’s motion to have one of the lawsuits thrown out, a decision which Lizzo has since appealed.
