Lizzo Says ‘Trendy’ Cancel Culture Is ‘Appropriation’
Lizzo poses during Reel To Reel: LOVE, LIZZO at The GRAMMY Museum on December 14, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Lizzo believes cancel culture is “appropriation” and has become a “trendy” and “misused” term. On Sunday (January 8), the singer expressed her concerns about the phrase on her social media. “This may be a random time to say this but it’s on my heart.. cancel culture is appropriation,” she wrote in a tweet. “There was real outrage from truly marginalized people and now it’s become trendy, misused and misdirected. I hope we can phase out of this & focus our outrage on the real problems.”
“Cancel culture” has been widely criticized by those who believe that it doesn’t allow people to make mistakes or learn from them. One person responded to Lizzo’s tweet, “I feel like initially, the focus was on people getting consequences for their misdeeds but ‘cancel culture’ really has taken on this form of a mass effort to remove someone from their standing/place because of a perceived misdeed.”
Lizzo’s tweet come shortly after she addressed the discourse on bodies on Tiktok. The singer-songwriter gave examples of the kind of comments she was receiving on her posts like, “‘Oh my gosh, you’re so big. [gags] You need to lose weight, but for your health,’ to ‘Oh my gosh, you’re so little. You need to get a– or titties or something.’ To, ‘Oh my gosh, why did she get all that work done? It’s just too much work.'”
Lizzo called out the “delusion,” saying, “Do you realize that artists are not here to fit into your beauty standards? Artists are here to make art. And this body is art and I’mma do whatever I want with this body. I wish that comments costed y’all money so we could see how much time we are f—ing wasting on the wrong thing. Can we leave that s— back there please?”
Time's 2022 '100Next': 14 Entertainers We're Thrilled Made the List
Time magazine published its annual TIME100 Next list Wednesday (September 28), recognizing 100 rising stars from across industries and around the world. The publication goes about choosing its list by deciding which 100 rising stars — from medical professionals, government officials, movement leaders, high-profile whistle-blowers, top CEOs, musicians and actors by their impact to the world.
As Time states, “There is no one way to have an impact, so there is no one way by which Time measures the influence essential to its selections.”
One of this year’s featured artists is television host, singer and actress Keke Palmer, who most recently starred in Jordan Peele’s Nope and hosts the rebooted game show classic Password. She has been in the entertainment industry for 20 years now, getting her major acting breakthrough with Akeelah and the Bee (2006).
In her Time 100 video profile, Keke said that Black American filmmakers like Jordan Peele and Tyler Perry breaking the box office down with their success is something we “want more of it. The more that we have of it, the more different perspectives we can get. Everybody’s perspective isn’t the same.”
Keke also shared advice for those wanting to break it big in the industry: “Do what you can with what you got. Tell your story, get your idea out there” via reels, Instagram and TikTok.
Palmer, 29, said on Instagram of Queen Latifah being the person tasked with writing about her, “I am soooo thankful for all the beautiful things you said about me @queenlatifah. What an incredible surprise from someone who has mentored me my entire career. My love for you is endless, till this day when someone messes with me.. I let them know I’m gonna tellllllll my auntie.”
As we previously reported, Lil Nas X, Britney Spears and Billie Eilish made the list last year. As always, a person of importance writes up the commentary on who Time chooses for their list — Kid Cudi wrote Lil Nas X’s, Paris Hilton wrote Britney’s and Megan Thee Stallion wrote Billie’s.
We took their list and compiled our favorite 14 A-list actors and musicians below.
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.