Lizzo is quitting, citing ridicule and criticism of her. She said, “I didn’t sign up for this s–t.” I beg to differ. She absolutely did sign up for that “s–t” when she put herself out there, half-naked, grossly obese, coarse, profane, and lacking any real talent except for her mastery of egocentrism and hubris. One cannot exhibit one’s most obvious negative attributes in public, then moan and complain when one gets hammered by those with more decorum.

“Y’all don’t know how close I be to giving up on everyone and quitting,” she whined ungrammatically, as though if we did know, we would treat her better. This is the hubris of the “you can be anything you want to be” mentality that permeates the last two generations. News flash: People cannot always be anything they want to be. Some people are good at singing—others are not. Some people will make good doctors, others will not. And some who believe they should be immune to critical analysis will rapidly find out that they misjudged not only humanity but themselves. 

What was she thinking? Did she truly believe everyone should love what she offers, and if they don’t, there’s something wrong with them? See, this is what is wrong with so many performers, politicians, and people—they refuse to accept what others think of them and will embrace only what they think of themselves. It is pure narcissism and to these eyes, disrespectful of the sensitivities of others.

Perhaps it isn’t fair to criticize her avoirdupois but it seems to be fair game in this case only because she, not we, put it almost naked out there for the world to assess. She is shocked when it is not admired and believes we are at fault for daring to notice that the ample performer has no clothes. Or very few, anyway. To many eyes, this is a deeply weird thing. Many normal people don’t want to watch an obese, narcissistic, exhibitionist singing, dancing, or otherwise cavorting around on stage.

I don’t want to watch a bus crash into a crowd of people. I don’t want to watch politicians lie to my face, seriatim.  I don’t want to hear profanity or watch sex scenes in movies and in entertainment. I don’t like unhealthy obesity being normalized. And I don’t want to watch said obesity and exhibitionism being lauded as admirable. A conspicuous lack of decorum and humility such as what Lizzo demonstrates is just offensive.

She cannot have it both ways: She cannot expect to flaunt her generous body in public, gyrating half-naked, and expect no negative criticism. That she is so upset by negative reactions reveals an utter lack of self-awareness and a misreading of much of the American landscape. I feel sorry for her misjudgment and hope she gets a different act together, one that doesn’t require fawning adulation from people she doesn’t know.

Image: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, unaltered.