Lizzo became visibly emotional as she shared a powerful message about racism and white supremacy in America after a weekend of protests following the death of George Floyd.
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Floyd died last week after a Minneapolis police officer used a knee chokehold on his neck for 8 minutes.
Since then, people have been voicing their outrage and participating in nationwide protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
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Speaking on Instagram live, Lizzo began by saying that all she wants is equality.
“It’s always white people using the term ‘race war,'” she said. “We don’t want that shit. We want what we’ve always wanted from the beginning of being in this fucking country — the same rights that all these other people have. It’s not that difficult.”
“Black people are tired,” she went on. “We are so tired. I’m tired of putting myself in danger. It’s not danger from the protestors, it’s danger from the police who don’t value me. Danger of the white supremacist groups who are shooting at people, who are running people over with their cars.”
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“How do we not see where the issue is?” she added.
Lizzo continued to say that people needed to recognise racism as something “running in the veins” of the country.
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“Why is everyone being so — in the media — political?” Lizzo asked. “This isn’t a political issue. The issue is in politics, but it’s not a political issue. It’s so much deeper than politics. It’s in the veins of this country — there is racism running through its veins.”
She then turned her attention to the experience of black women specifically, saying that she felt a “responsibility” to speak out now that she has such a large public platform.
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“Nobody seems to care about the way that black women feel,” she said. “I wasn’t in this position a year ago, [with] this profile. This many people didn’t know who I was a year ago.”
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She went on: “I remember every time these things happened, I would look to these famous people and say, ‘Where are your voices? Why aren’t you speaking up for us?’ I have to realise that responsibility as well. It would irresponsible of me to not reflect the times, irresponsible to not tell the truth.”
And Lizzo concluded by describing the phrase “all lives matter” as “full-on anti-blackness”, before highlighting the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.
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“If you believe that ‘all lives matter,’ then where is your outrage for black lives?” she said. “To me, ‘all lives matter’ is fake equality and full-on anti-blackness.”
“I still love my blackness,” she added. “I still love your blackness. I still believe that everybody’s life matters. But until we start treating each life equally and respecting each life equally, we gotta say Black Lives Matter.”
"Не имеет значения, что думают другие – поскольку они в любом случае что-нибудь подумают. Так что расслабься... Пауло Коэльо."