Lizzo Comes Clean About 'Bowing Down to Pressure' Accusations

Four months after the release of "Grrrls," Lizzo explained her choice to alter the song's lyrics.

The singer's usage of the ableist slur "sp-z" in the song's original lyrics was addressed in her recent cover story for Vanity Fair, in which she stated, "I'd never heard it used as an ableist slur against disabled people, never. The purpose of the music I create is to make me feel happy and be real to me. I find the use of a slur to be unauthentic, although I was unaware that it was one.

She said she heard that a lot, especially in rap songs and among her black friends and black circles. She explained that It implies to go off, to crank up. She employed [it] as a verb and not as a noun or an adjective. She employed it in the manner prevalent in the Black community. The Internet brought it to her attention, but that alone would not have prompted me to make a change, she clarified. So why is she accused of being pressured?

She said indeed, another aspect of the controversy that surprised the "About Damn Time" singer was the backlash she received after releasing a new version of the song, with fans and media personalities such as Charlamagne Tha God, and Jerrod Carmichael arguing that artists should never give in to public pressure to alter their work.

"Nina Simone changed lyrics - is she not an artist?" Lizzo countered. "Language changes generationally; Nina Simone said you cannot be an artist and not reflect the times. So am I not being an artist and reflecting the times and learning, listening to people, and making a conscious change in the way we treat language, and help people in the way we treat people in the future?"

The recent Emmy winner discussed her response to racist and fatphobic comments on social media, her relationship with partner Myke Wright, and other topics during her interview with the magazine.

Time and again, Lizzo has no tolerance for her critics. According to a video acquired by TMZ, the 34-year-old Grammy winner appeared to reference Kanye West's recent remark at her weight when she spoke out against people insulting her "for no motherf-ing reason" during her Friday show in Toronto. She also asked the audience if she could seek asylum in the Great White North and attempted to locate a Canadian spouse in order to obtain dual citizenship, to which the audience replied with cheers and laughs.

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