This morning on BBC Radio 6 Music, Lizzo was interviewed by Nemone (sitting in for Mary Anne Hobbs) for International Women’s Day. Lizzo talks about her love of Scotland ahead of her concert in Glasgow, the women who have inspired her including Beyonce and Queen Latifah, and the importance of self-love.
On Scotland:
‘I love Scotland. I toured Scotland with CVRCHES and that was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. Isn’t Nice N Sleazy in Scotland, in Glasgow? Nice N Sleazy, I’ll see you there!’
On Queen Latifah:
‘Man, she’s a household name and a staple and can do everything. I’ve had the privilege to watch Queen Latifah to go from being, to my generation, seeing her on Living Single, when she was clearly: (raps) – a rapper! And then to see her on Fresh Prince, Living Single, then to see her in movies like Set it Off and to have her own television show, talk show, then to see her do a jazz album and then to see her be in Chicago. To watch her evolve and have a metamorphosis like that in such a long colourful career is really inspiring to someone like me because I didn’t see anyone who looked like me. And she represented me. People would be like: ‘You look like Queen Latifa!’
On seeing Destiny’s Child in Walmart:
‘They were the biggest deal in Houston. I moved down to Houston from Detroit when I was nine and they were the talk of the town, they were the biggest girl group in the world. I loved them – I got their CDs. To have that intimate performance watching Beyonce become Beyonce […] is actually an incredible journey. And she was the biggest thing in the world to me then. So imagine now! I think it’s super inspiring to see black women doing their thing.’
On self-compassion:
‘I think we’re really hard on ourselves. I know I am. I’ve got to be hard on myself sometimes because the stakes are higher. I’m always starting with the self. I feel like if you’re kinder to yourself, you will be kinder to others. I haven’t heard about a story about someone who was really kind and compassionate and patient with themselves and just a jerk to everyone around them, was mean and impatient with everyone around them you know? If you can show yourself compassion, I think that reflects onto other people.’
On giving a platform to black female activists at People’s Choice Award in 2022:
‘These are people who I didn’t just Google search the day before. These are people who I follow and have wanted to connect with and have connected with and so to be able to celebrate them, where I think activism is a very thankless job, but also performative activism is getting a lot of thanks. I think people are getting more love and praise for performative activism, and the people who are really doing the dirty work, the ugly work, the scary work, aren’t getting any type of attention. When I say attention, I mean ‘are you okay?’ – checking in. I know a lot of people who unfortunately had to become activists. We shouldn’t have to dedicate our lives to fighting for the right to live, or the right of care or the right to feel safe – it’s not fair.’
On giving inspirational advice to women:
‘I think my life is inspiration enough. If you want to feel inspired, I do a lot intentionally to inspire people. I think giving somebody words doesn’t do more than just showing people that you made it, that you’re happy, that it’s possible. I think that is more important than words. You have to love what you’re doing and always be in pursuit and support of that love. There’s nothing else I would be doing. I can’t not do what I’m doing. […] Be your own inspiration!’
On BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Sounds.
