Superstar singer Lizzo spoke out against criticism that she is making music “for white people” during an interview with Howard Stern, and said the accusation challenges her identity.
“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,” the 34-year-old singer said to Stern, NY Post reported. “My message is literally for anybody and every body, and I don’t you know, try to gatekeep my message,” Lizzo said to Stern.
The star formally addressed the claims that her music is designed to only appeal to white people in her new HBO Max documentary, “Love, Lizzo,” the outlet noted.
Lizzo went on to explain that her intention has always been to appeal to the masses, and insists that she doesn’t craft her style or her music to appeal to any singular race, culture, ethnic group or age demographic.
“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’” Lizzo said, according to the New York Post.
“And now I don’t want to answer no more questions about this shit. I want to show the world who I am,” Lizzo said. (RELATED: Seth Meyers And Lizzo Get Drunk, Engage In Shenanigans)
Lizzo is rooted in R&B and hip-hop music but has scored hits in the pop genre with singles such as “Juice,” “Good As Hell,” and “About Damn Time,” according to the outlet.
This isn’t the first time the artist has been accused of creating race-based music.
“I am not making music for white people. I am a Black woman, I am making music from my Black experience, for me to heal myself [from] the experience we call life,” she told Vanity Fair during an October 2022 interview.