Lizzo on her struggle with self-acceptance: 'You start to think something’s wrong with you'

By Ken Simmons

2019 has been a breakout year for Lizzo: Her hit “Truth Hurts” spent a record-breaking seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

But the rapper/singer remembers how, growing up in Detroit, she had to cope with her negative self-image. Before plus-size women began to be featured in the media, she admits it was difficult to feel positive about being a full-figured woman.

“I would watch things on television and I would look at magazines and I would not see myself,” the "Hustlers" star says in the cover story for the December issue of British Vogue. “When you don’t see yourself, you start to think something’s wrong with you."

"You want to look like those things, and when you realize it’s a physical impossibility, you start to think, ‘What the f*** is wrong with me?’" she continues. "I think that took a greater toll on me, psychologically, growing up than what anyone could have said to me.”

It took 10 years of hard work before Lizzo, 31, became a star, but now, looking back, she admits she just wasn't ready for stardom a decade ago.

“I think if I was 21 right now, I would not be able to maintain this lifestyle without having major anxiety and panic attacks,” she says. “But thank God, my journey is all about self-care and finding that love for yourself and nurturing yourself. Because that’s what artists need more than anything.”

The “Juice” singer is nominated for three American Music Awards, including New Artist of the Year, and will perform on the ABC awards show telecast on Nov. 24.

The December issue of British Vogue with Lizzo on the cover is available online and on newsstands.