Lizzo speaks out on “protecting my peace” in mental health break from public scrutiny

Lizzo has opened up about the mental health break she took recently amid a wave of public scrutiny, saying she was “protecting [her] peace”.

During an appearance on the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast, the singer reflected on taking a “gap year” from music in 2024, ahead of kicking off her ‘Love In Real Life’ era in February.

• READ MORE: Lizzo – ‘Special’ review: joyful superstar uplifts with self-assured, self-empowering bops 

“I don’t feel like I’ve expressed myself fully in the last two years, like how I want to. I feel like I’ve been kind of holding my tongue and like staying to myself, but I think that it’s for the best because you know, running your mouth these days,” she explained.

“Sometimes it’s just unnecessary and sometimes it can get you into some stuff you wasn’t even trying to get into because people will misinterpret it and run with it. I found when I was like, ‘I’m taking a gap year, I’m protecting my peace’. But like, people were like, ‘Wait, so what’s that supposed to mean?'”

Lizzo also opened up about how the public’s perception of her changed after a sexual harassment lawsuit was filed against her in 2023.

The star had been sued by three former dancers who claimed to have been subject to sexual harassment and a hostile workplace environment while on tour. Lizzo denied the claims and said the situation had left her contemplating quitting the music industry. Last December, the singer said she’d been “completely blindsided” by the allegations, insisting that she “did nothing wrong”.

Speaking to host Jay Shetty about the response, Lizzo recalled: “I think when it was out of my control and someone else could tell a story about me that wasn’t true and people believed it, it crushed me.

“I think what I learned about fame is, even if that’s really me, it just becomes kind of like a fictional story that you… it’s a character, it’s a brand, it’s a thing that now doesn’t belong to you anymore.”

She went on: “Whoever Lizzo is to the world is not really even me, and that disconnect is depressing. And I think the only remedy to that is continuing to be myself. That’s the time. I just have to continue to be me and people will see me for who I am.”

Lizzo concluded: “I’m never gonna stop… If anything, I’m more careful now. I can’t just let any author into my life who can make me a villain. I can’t do that anymore. ‘Cause I’m the author and taking back my narrative by continuing to tell my story from me. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to do that.”

You can watch the full conversation in the video above.

In other news, Lizzo has hit back at people criticising her music and other Black pop icons in the past.

Last month, Lizzo revealed that her fifth studio album ‘Love In Real Life’ was “finished”. She has already previewed the follow-up to 2022’s ‘Special’ with the title track and the unapologetic single ‘Still Bad’.

Lizzo recently revealed that “The Strokes were on the mood board” when she was making her new LP, calling the band “such a huge inspiration”.

“This time I really feel like I was sonically focused on a sound,” she said. “The way that we found it, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m one of them now’.  I can tell this story. I was so excited to tell you this story seven months ago when we were finding this sound.”

In January, the star celebrated reaching her “weight release” goal, telling her fans: “Let this be a reminder you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Meanwhile, Lizzo is set to appear as the musical guest on this weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live (April 12).

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