Dark Day: Lizzo Has Announced She Has Quit The Music Business, Blaming Being Bullied and "Dragged" By The Haters

USA Today - Lizzo has had enough.

The four-time Grammy winner took to Instagram Friday evening to share a vulnerable message about feeling like she's being unfairly critiqued.

"I'm getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet. All I want is to make music and make people happy and help the world be a little better than how I found it," she wrote. "But I'm starting to feel like the world doesn't want me in it. I'm constantly up against lies being told about me for clout & views… being the butt of the joke every single time because of how I look… my character being picked apart by people who don't know me and disrespecting my name."

"I didn't sign up for this," she concluded. "I QUIT✌🏾"

(I looked fucking EVERYWHERE online for a video clip or a gif from the Bridesmaids scene where Jon Hamm tells Kristen Weig to beat it, and rolls over and gives the fakest "I'm gonna miss you so much" of all time, but couldn't find it anywhere. Would have been a real zinger. So you'll just have to pretend for me. Or take this one from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory)

In the grand theatre of public life, where the line between the personal and the professional blurs into a spectacle for all to see (and judge), the recent unfolding drama starring Lizzo has offered up a veritable feast for the social commentary vultures. 

With the plot thickening faster than a daytime soap opera, the irony of the situation is not lost on those of us munching popcorn from the sidelines.

Our protagonist here, Lizzo—known for her anthem of self-love and empowerment, "Good as Hell"—has found herself embroiled in a narrative that seems to contradict the very essence of her public persona. The irony? Announcing her intention to quit "being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet" amidst swirling accusations of sexual harassment, assault, and bullying from former backup dancers. It's the kind of plot twist you can't make up.

Something I wrote about in detail back in August.

In it, we documented the numerous allegations of repeated sexual harassment, sexual abuse, body shaming (from Lizzo. Not against her), plagiarism and song stealing, and more.

Lizzo's emotional post comes just two days after she performed at a multimillion-dollar fundraiser held by President Biden. An attorney for the former backup dancers who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her in August, criticized the performance.

“It’s shameful that Lizzo would be chosen to headline an event like this amid such egregious allegations,” attorney Ron Zambrano told NewsNation.

“Without getting into the politics, I can’t imagine why anyone would want Lizzo representing them in any way, given her reprehensible behavior,” he added. “It’s just a terrible look.”

(Sidebar - I went on NewsNation the other day to discuss the Diddy allegations and blog I wrote on here the other day)

On one hand here, we have Lizzo, the emblem of body positivity, championing the cause of self-acceptance and love in a world that often tells us we're never enough. On the other, allegations paint a picture of a workplace environment that seems to contradict these public stances. The juxtaposition is stark.

This saga offers more questions than answers. Can a person advocate for positivity and self-love while being accused of creating a toxic environment? Where do we draw the line between the person and the persona? And perhaps most importantly, how do we navigate the murky waters of public perception and reality?

I'm not even going to get into the whole thing about her saying "she didn't sign up for this shit", because it will turn into 5,000 words. But I hate to break it to you Lizzo, but you did. It's exactly what you signed up for by pining to become a star, and a celebrity, and get paid millions and millions of dollars on top of it. That's kind of the trade-off. You want the spotlight and the glam, then you have to accept being in a fishbowl under a magnifying glass at all times as well. That's kind of the trade-off. And by all accounts, you've loved the fame part.

Personally, I'm shocked that somebody accused of making other women shove bananas up their hoo-ha's as part of a "hazing" initiation ritual can cry out that she's a victim of being bullied herself, but it's 2024, down is up, up is down, and what the fuck do I know?

I think I speak for us all when I say today is a dark day, and I'm not sure the music industry will ever be able to recover from this.