Entertainment
Lizzo ‘really hurt’ by claims she only ‘writes music for white people’ slamming critics attacking Black identity-Alicia Adejobi-Entertainment – Metro
The Juice hitmaker has long battled suggestions her music appeals more to a white audience.
Lizzo is refusing to ‘gate-keep the messaging’ of her music which is to be enjoyed by all races (Picture: Getty Images)
Lizzo has slammed critics suggesting her music is only made for white people, declaring herself a proud Black woman who makes songs for everyone.
The 34-year-old singer has long been plagued by criticism of her feel-good pop hits, which include Juice and About Damn Time, which some feel is steered more towards a white audience.
However, Lizzo has hit back at her critics insisting her music is similar to funk, soul and ‘a lot of Black music – that was made for Black people – in the ‘70s and ‘80s’.
The Grammy-winner said this week: ‘[It’s] very hurtful, only because I am a Black woman, and I feel like it really challenges my identity and who I am, and diminishes that, which I think is really hurtful.
She continued: ‘I don’t try to gate-keep my message from people. So all three of those things for me, I’m just like, you don’t even get me at all,’ adding that her music is intended to be enjoyed by ‘literally… everybody and anybody’.
Speaking to Howard Stern, Lizzo added: ‘And I feel like a lot of people, truthfully, don’t get me – which is why I wanted to do this documentary, because I was like, “I feel like y’all don’t understand me, y’all don’t know where I came from…” And now I don’t want to answer no more questions about this s**t. I want to show the world who I am.’
Lizzo, 34, told Howard Stern that it’s the last time she ever wants to address the topic (Picture: Getty Images)
It’s not the first time the Truth Hurts singer has addressed the criticism as she discussed the relationship between race and pop music last month.
Recalling stereotypical attitudes towards Black genres, she told Entertainment Weekly: ‘I think if people did any research they would see that there was race music and then there was pop music.
‘And race music was their way of segregating Black artists from being mainstream, because they didn’t want their kids listening to music created by Black and brown people because they said it was demonic and yada, yada, yada.’
Reacting to her latest comments, one fan commented on Instagram: ‘Same thing that happened to Whitney Houston. Can we please allow black women to make pop music and thrive without patronizing them?’
Agreeing with their sentiment, one added: ‘It’s funny how they said the same thing about Whitney Houston and she out sang all of her peers and became the most awarded overall artist of all time. Keep doing you Lizzo!!’
One other wrote: ‘I love her music and I’m black. Sometimes some of our people think if your not making ratchet hood rat music or making mumble rap you not black and that’s sad.’
Lizzo has enjoyed an exciting few years achieving two number one singles in 2019’s Truth Hurts and About Damn Time, released this year, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US. She also won three Grammys in 2020 and is nominated for five more ahead of next year’s awards ceremony.
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