Lizzo admits being called a "fat pop star" is the worst thing anyone can say about her now.
Lizzo with Zane Lowe
The 33-year-old singer - who has just released her new single 'Rumours' which features Cardi B - has been a major advocate for body positivity in the music world, and she admits she had to own her size from the start because it was not an insecurity which she could hide.
In an interview with Zane Lowe on New Music Daily on Apple Music 1, she said: "I feel like I just didn't have the luxury of hiding behind anything. "Because I'm fat, you know what I mean? So it's like, I immediately am out here. I don't know how to describe it. How do I put this in a way that makes sense?
"I feel like fat is the worst thing people can say about me at this point. This is the biggest insecurity. It's like, 'How dare a pop star be fat? How dare...' I had to own that. I feel like other people who were put on that pedestal, or who become pop stars, probably have other insecurities or have other flaws, but they can hide it behind a veneer of being sexy and being marketable."
Lizzo is proud that she is paving the way for plus-sized women in the world and has inspired people to be proud of who they are with her songs, including her smash hit 'Good As Well', but she insists society has a long way to go in terms of true acceptance.
She added: "They always ask me about change. 'How has it changed?' and I'm like, 'There's two worlds going on here.' Do you know what I'm saying? There's the media, there's mainstream culture, the surface of things, the veneer, and then there's the infrastructure. I feel like music can influence the culture and the way things look, commercials, billboards, but that changes so much.
"The infrastructure has not changed as much. There's still so many people who suffer from being marginalised systemically.
"Meanwhile, there's a plus-sized black girl at the Grammys, but plus-size black women are still not getting the treatment they deserve in hospitals and from doctors and at work, you know what I mean? We got a long way to go."
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