Lizzo’s Next Era: The Pop Star on Her ‘Daring’ New Album and Pivoting to Reality TV

variety.com:

Lizzo was growing up in the ’90s, she never saw anyone who looked like her on TV. “The choice of Black girls they used in media was the same kind of Black girl,” the Grammy-winning singer says, alluding to the rail-thin figures of celebrities.

As a teenager, Lizzo remembers the tabloids body-shaming Jessica Simpson. The 33-year-old marvels: “Y’all want me to believe this is an overweight, obese woman and that she should be ashamed of how she feels — how the fuck was I supposed to feel?”Has there been more body inclusivity in storytelling since then?

Sure, but “it’s not happening quickly by no means,” says Lizzo. “It’s happening very slow and select, and there’s a long way to go.

But I have seen it budge, and that’s better than nothing.” Now she wants to give the movement another shove. Lizzo — whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson — is moving beyond her already well-known talents as a vocalist, songwriter and virtuoso flute player.