New York (AFP) – Pop star Lizzo, who built her brand on being a poster girl for self-love but has been hit by employee harassment suits, said she is quitting, tired of being targeted for her looks and character.
It was not immediately clear if the 35-year-old Grammy-winner meant the music industry, social media, or something else. Her statement came in an Instagram post on Friday, a day after she appeared at a Democratic campaign event for President Joe Biden.
“I’m getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet,” Lizzo, born Melissa Viviane Jefferson, wrote.
“All I want is to make music and make people happy and help the world be a little better than how I found it,” she continued.
“But I’m starting to feel like the world doesn’t want me in it.”
“I didn’t sign up for this shit,” she wrote, adding in all capital letters: “I QUIT.”
Lizzo, whose self-love message has resonated around the globe, was sued by three of her former dancers last year after they alleged sexual, religious and racial harassment, among other accusations.
Last month a judge dismissed some of the claims, but denied Lizzo’s motion to toss out the lawsuit, according to Billboard.
Earlier this month she appeared to be enthusiastic about her career, posting: “I’m writing some of the best music and I’m so excited for y’all to hear.”
On Thursday night she helped warm up the crowd before Biden, along with former Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, appeared at a fundraiser in New York City that raised a record $25 million.
“It’s shameful that Lizzo would be chosen to headline an event like this amid such egregious allegations,” a lawyer for her former dancers, Ron Zambrano, was quoted as telling NewsNation.
In her Instagram post, Lizzo said she was “constantly up against lies being told about me for clout & views,” and that she was “the butt of the joke every single time because of how I look.”
Her character was “being picked apart by people who don’t know me,” the singer said.
Many of the responses were cruel jibes epitomizing what the singer was complaining about. But many were supportive — including from fans who also know a thing or two about being in the public eye.
“We love you Queen,” reality star and businesswoman Paris Hilton wrote.
© 2024 AFP
