What’s up?
It’s Emile Ennis Jr. here with Clevver News and Lizzo just responded to fans who called
her out for promoting "toxic diet culture” by taking part in a 10 day smoothie cleanse.
Fans of Lizzo know that she’s the queen of self love and body positivity.
She’s constantly sharing photos, videos, and music that inspire others to embrace themselves
exactly how they are and not change for anyone else.
And she’s been known to clap back at body shamers and haters over the years and her
fans love her for it.
After receiving backlash for showing off her workouts back in June, Lizzo wrote “I DON'T
POST THINGS LIKE THIS FOR ME.
IDGAF ABOUT TROLLS THAT BODY SHAME ME.
I DO THIS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO GET BODY SHAMED EVERY SINGLE DAY WHO DON'T HAVE MY PLATFORM
OR HAVE THE SAME PATH TO CONFIDENCE I HAD.
I KNOW THAT I AM HERE TO DEFEND AND REPRESENT Y'ALL.”
And so, fans were surprised to see Lizzo promoting a 10 day smoothie cleanse on her TikTok earlier
this week.
Before we get into everything Lizzo said, we wanted to give a quick heads up that we
will be talking about cleanses and diet culture in this story, so please only continue watching
if you feel comfortable hearing about those topics.
Along with her initial post Lizzo wrote “practice safe detoxification y’all” and she revealed
that she was working directly with a nutritionist when doing her smoothie cleanse.
Lizzo took fans through everything she ate in a day during this cleanse.
This included three different green smoothies, beauty water, a super food shake, apples and
peanut butter, a protein bar, cucumbers, cashews, almonds, tea, and some vitamins.
So while yes she was doing a smoothie cleanse, Lizzo still ate solid foods and seemingly
got lots of nutrients in that were approved by her nutritionist!
She posted a follow up video where she explained that she was doing this cleanse because she
had recently gone on a trip and ate food that upset her system.
“So I drank a lot and a I ate a lot of food that f*cked my stomach up in Mexico so I decided
to do JJ Smith’s 10 day smoothie cleanse.
This is day one right here.
Moving on to day two.
It’s just basically you drink these green smoothies every day.
Right here was the hardest day four.”
Even after this explanation, Lizzo received waves of backlash from fans for promoting
this type of cleanse.
One person tweeted saying “Oh nooooo Lizzo :( A ‘detox cleanse’???
Smoothie-based diet?
Before and after vids?
:(((( I’m really disappointed to see another celebrity perpetuate harmful weight loss/’health’
practices.”
Another fan chimed in writing “can’t believe lizzo, who’s biggest theme in her music
is advocating for the body positivity movement, loving yourself no matter what size you are,
especially if you’re big, has promoted some weight loss detox product.”
And this person called out Lizzo for promoting JJ Smith writing “Didn’t expect to see
@lizzo promoting detoxes and a “Fast Weight Loss specialist” (whose book title is “Think
Yourself Thin”) on Instagram today, but here we are.
Damn.
So profoundly disappointing, and dangerous.
SMH.”
And there were lots more from fans, just like those with some calling out Lizzo for not
putting a trigger warning on her post.
Lizzo caught wind of all of this criticism and got back on TikTok to explain her decision
to do a smoothie detox and share it with fans.
She started off by saying quote, “I would normally be so afraid and ashamed to post
things like this online because I feel like as a big girl people just expect if you are
doing something for health, you're doing it for a dramatic weight loss, and that is not
the case."
Lizzo revealed why she really did the detox and how she shared it because she was so proud
of how much it helped her.
“In reality, November stressed me the f--k out, I drank a lot, I ate a lot of spicy things
and things that f--ked my stomach up.
And I wanted to reverse it and get back to where I was.
I'm so proud of myself, I'm proud of my results, my sleep has improved, my hydration, my inner
peace, my mental stability, my f--kin' body, my f--kin' skin, the whites of my eyes.
I feel and look like a bad bitch
She continued on saying that there isn’t anything else to it, she’s just quote, “a
big girl who did a smoothie detox.”
Lizzo said that she got exactly what she wanted out of it and she wanted to share it with
fans to inspire quote “every big girl to do whatever the f*ck they want with their
bodies.”
Fans were quick to show Lizzo love and support in the comments of her video writing things
like “you’re an inspiration to us all, “no need to explain yourself queen,” and
“I respect you woman!”
Asset: screenshots
This fan also noted that “she literally said she was practicing SAFE detox methods
with a nutritionist and said NOT TO TRY AT HOME WITHOUT PROPER RESEARCH!! stop!! attacking!!
lizzo!!!”
And it’s also important to note that Lizzo has aslo been honest in the past about the
pressures of being a body positive icon.
On David Letterman's "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” Lizzo said quote, "It bothered
me for a long time that all people could talk about or think about was my size.
I didn't like it when people condemned me for it and it kind of rubbed me the wrong
way when I was praised.
Like 'you're so brave!'
They thought they were complimenting me by saying I was unapologetic.
I was like 'what do I have to apologize for?'"
She also went on to say she was "sick of being an activist because I'm fat and Black."
So Lizzo, just keep doing whatever you want as long as it’s safe and healthy!
Which she’s noted she is.
It’s totally understandable why this kind of video could be triggering for some people
though, so if you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or body image issues,
we’ve linked some resources down in the description for you.
And if you want more on Lizzo, click right over here for another Clevver News video.
Also, let us know down in the comments what you think of Lizzo’s response to the criticism
she faced.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!