Lizzo recently went through a difficult time, but after attending one of Beyoncé‘s concerts, the Yitty founder realized that nothing can break her soul.
In a candid conversation with Women’s Health published Tuesday (July 1), Lizzo opened up about how seeing her idol perform kickstarted her healing journey after struggling for months with depression and isolation. The hitmaker attended the Renaissance Tour in 2023; that year, she was hit with an ongoing lawsuit from three former backup dancers accusing her of sexual harassment and toxic work conditions, all allegations Lizzo has vehemently denied.
“I was so nervous,” she told the publication, noting she was worried that people in the crowd would “boo me or be like, ‘F–k you.’”
When fellow attendees instead embraced her with encouraging remarks, Lizzo says she was inspired to pull herself out of that dark period. “It made me feel like, ‘Wow, maybe I don’t want to die. Life is worth living.’ That was the kick-starter to me being like, ‘OK, Melissa, get your a– in gear and take your f–king life back.’”
Lizzo has since embarked on a fitness and mental wellness journey, re-emerging stronger and more self-assured than ever ahead of the release of her upcoming album, Love in Real Life. But things were dark for quite some time, according to the musician, as the legal action against her made her question everything.
“You look around and think about every person you’ve ever known and every experience, and you wonder, ‘Was that real?’” she told WH. “I got very paranoid and isolated. I used to walk into glam and be like, ‘Oh, let me tell you about this crazy s–t that happened last night!’ I couldn’t do that anymore. I pushed everyone away. I wasn’t even talking to my therapist.”
The backup dancers’ lawsuit came in August 2023, with the plaintiffs accusing Lizzo of pressuring them to touch nude dancers at a club, commenting on their weight and private sex lives, and forcing her religious beliefs on them. Some of those claims were dismissed by a judge in 2024, but the lawsuit was still ordered to move forward; in June, however, Lizzo filed an appeal aimed at shutting it down for good on the grounds that the dancers’ claims clashed with her First Amendment rights.
In September 2023, Lizzo was hit with a second lawsuit, this time from a former member of her style team claiming she’d faced a “culture of racism and bullying” while working for the Grammy winner. Again, Lizzo denied any wrongdoing, with her attorneys calling the claims “meritless and salacious.”
“It got to the point where I was like, ‘I could die,’” Lizzo recalled of the public backlash she faced in light of the lawsuits. “I never attempted to kill myself or thought about it, but I did think, ‘If everyone hates you and thinks you’re a terrible person, then what’s the point?’”
Despite everything, the businesswoman knows she always has Bey. The Destiny’s Child alum’s discography is a go-to for Lizzo during her workouts, and the “Truth Hurts” artist even got a personal shout-out from Bey on many nights of the Renaissance Tour during “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)” — something that made Lizzo cry when she witnessed it in person.
“In that moment I was thinking about baby me, listening to Happy Face by destiny’s child and crying myself to sleep because of bullies,” she wrote on Instagram shortly afterward. “It’s an honor. Thank You @beyonce.”
Check out Lizzo’s Women’s Health cover below:
