Lizzo opened up about mental health issues she experienced during her weight loss journey.
In a candid Substack post published November 23, the 37-year-old explained that the fallout from a scandal left her feeling isolated and betrayed.
Three former backup dancers had accused the singer of sexual harassment and misconduct.
“I started losing weight in the fall of 2023. I was severely depressed. I had been the subject of vicious scandal, and it felt like the whole world turned its back on me. I became deeply suicidal,” Lizzo penned the essay. “I cut off all my loved ones.”
She explained that after the controversy emerged, her ‘former close colleagues and friends’ came out and made ‘things up’ about her.
This resulted in her inability to trust anyone again.
She felt ‘extreme isolation’ and was ‘angry every single day.’
“Mostly because I couldn’t go out and defend myself. I couldn’t tell the world the truth because no one would believe me,” she continued.
She confessed to turning to Pilates as a way to process her pain.
Lizzo, real name Melissa Jefferson, would cry after workouts.
However, she gradually reframed her journey as ‘weight release’ rather than ‘weight loss’.
“…my weight had been a protective shield, a joyful comfort zone, and even sometimes a superhero suit to protect me through life. My weight, like my hair, represented time. It stored energy. And I wanted to release myself from it,” she explained the change of her thought process after talking to a few therapists.
“I wanted to release myself from it.”