Lizzo has never shied away from addressing her critics head-on.
This week, the Grammy-winning artist fired back at online backlash after sharing a 2019 rap demo on TikTok—a track her label declined to release. Captioned “Rap songs my label won’t let me release,” the clip immediately set off a storm of negative responses.
Users piled on with comments like “they made the right decision” and “Is the rap in the room with us?” One listener added, “I love this but I understand why they won’t release it. Still love you, Lizzo.”
She didn’t let it slide. In a direct response video, Lizzo called out the cruelty. “I’m about to cuss y’all out,” she began. “Y’all really need to check yourselves. You’re so disrespectful. Just f###### mean.” She followed with a pointed reminder: “God don’t like ugly.”
The Minneapolis-bred artist explained the track was written years ago, at a time when she was still developing her voice as a songwriter.
“I posted a song I wrote in 2019, when I was a f###### baby songwriter,” she said. “Somebody said, ‘It’s giving angsty teen. Maybe it’s for the best you didn’t release this.’ Who the f### are you? Have you ever written a song? And will you ever write anything as good as that? No.”
Lizzo clarified that the criticism didn’t shake her confidence, though the tone of her posts suggested more exhaustion than anger. “I am so f###### happy that I know who I am,” she said. “There’s nothing y’all can do to shake me.”
But the exchange underscores a deeper tension between Lizzo and a digital world that often treats artists like punchlines. The backlash comes just a year after she hinted at stepping away from music entirely.
In March 2024, she wrote, “I’m getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet.” She added, “All I want is to make music, make people happy, and help the world be a little better than how I found it. But I’m starting to feel like the world doesn’t want me in it.”
Her frustration taps into the emotional toll of constant scrutiny—particularly for women and artists of color who dare to be unapologetically themselves. Lizzo’s message, however raw, isn’t about defending one song. It’s about pushing back against the culture that tries to silence her voice before it’s even heard.
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