Lizzo calls out ‘complicit silence’ over racism and transphobia
Written by worldOneFm on March 8, 2023
Lizzo has called out “complicit silence” over social issues such as racism and transphobia.
On Wednesday, the Juice hitmaker – a vocal advocate of inclusivity and diversity – took to Twitter to start a conversation about the intersection of the topics in society at present.
“Transphobia is lookin real rooted in racism right about now…,” she wrote.
A short time later, Lizzo added: “I’ve never heard a person say why they’re racist… Or fatphobic.. I’ve never heard a reason why someone is transphobic.. I think if we knew ‘why’ these people felt this way there would way less support for these ideals. Because the ‘why’ is more insidious than we realize (sic).”
Lizzo was inundated with followers offering up their take on the subject.
Yet, she was quick to emphasise that she was more interested in understanding “apathetic participation” rather than why “people are bigoted”.
“Don’t get it twisted – I don’t care why people are bigoted. That’s a waste of my imagination. I feel like there’s a lot of complicit silence and apathetic participation going on that wouldn’t fly if people knew more,” the 34-year-old added.
Earlier this week, Lizzo also reacted to a report suggesting the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show will return in 2023 after a four-year hiatus.
The spectacle was cancelled in 2019 following criticism that brand executives didn’t promote inclusivity or diversity. Since then, bosses have recruited a new group of ambassadors, known as The VS Collective, with Priyanka Chopra and Adut Akech amongst the founding members.
“This is a win for inclusivity for inclusivity’s sake,” she insisted. “But if brands start doing this only because they’ve received backlash then what happens when the ‘trends’ change again? Do the CEOs of these companies value true inclusivity? Or do they just value money?”
