Lizzo Hits Back at Body Shamers & Talks Being a 'Body Icon': 'I Like Being Fat'

Lizzo is tired of defending her body.

In a new interview with People magazine published Wednesday (March 2), the 33-year-old Grammy-award winning performer discussed her time in the entertainment industry and her desire to create a new beauty standard.

Click inside to find out what she said…

“I think I have a really hot body! I’m a body icon, and I’m embracing that more and more every day,” Lizzo told the outlet.

“It may not be one person’s ideal body type just like, say, Kim Kardashian might not be someone’s ideal, but she’s a body icon and has created a modern-day beauty standard,” she added. “And what I’m doing is stepping into my confidence and my power to create my own beauty standard. And one day that will just be the standard.”

The “Rumors” singer went on to describe the stereotypes she’s faced due to her size, telling the mag: “The funny, fat friend. I played that trope in high school. Or the friend who is gonna beat your a– ’cause she’s big. Or it’s the big girl who’s insecure ’cause she’s big. I don’t think I’m the only kind of fat girl there is. I want us to be freed from that box we’ve been put in.”

Lizzo also said that her parents were very open with her about the Black experience in America, sharing, “I grew up in a family that was very proud of our Blackness.”

“I don’t think my dad wanted to tell us about the gruesome murders that happen to Black people all the time,” she continued. “But Black parents have this responsibility to let their children know what can happen. They taught me at a very young age how America treats Black people. How it treats Black women. And I saw very quickly how we treat fat people.”

While being aware of this briefly made her feel “cynical,” Lizzo decided to change her perspective. “I was like, ‘OK, what can I do with this? How can I make the best of this? I wasn’t supposed to survive,” she said. “I wasn’t supposed to make it this far. I wasn’t supposed to be a millionaire. I wasn’t supposed to be a sex symbol. I wasn’t supposed to be on the cover of People, but I am. So how can I make this worthwhile? How can I make this not just a flash in the pan?’”

Yet after all her success, she finds it frustrating that her body is still a topic of conversation. “Okay, we all know I’m fat,” she told the outlet. “I know I’m fat. It doesn’t bother me. I like being fat, and I’m beautiful and I’m healthy. So can we move on?”

For more from Lizzo, check out People.com.

Lizzo‘s new show, Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, follows the singer as she searches for plus size dancers for her upcoming tour. Check out the trailer here!