When it comes to handling the haters, Lizzo is an expert. Good luck to anyone who tries to take her down – when it comes to self-love, body confidence and general sassiness, Lizzo will always reign supreme.

That’s why, when online trolls tried to drag the singer for wearing a thong-dress to a recent Lakers game, they stood no chance. As the unofficial queen of the comeback, Lizzo has been feeding our souls with words on body positivity, self-care and empowerment throughout 2019 – and this latest opportunity was just another chance for her to flex her skills.

The whole thing started when Lizzo attended a Lakers game wearing a black dress with a cut out back, which revealed the thong she was wearing underneath. 

Soon after her appearance on the Jumbotron (the big screen which zooms in on the crowd at these types of events), people took to Twitter to share their “thoughts” on the whole situation, with many of the comments body shaming the singer for her fashion choices. 

What happened next was iconic. As we already know, Lizzo has absolutely zero time for negativity – and she took to her Instagram stories to set the record straight.

“Who I am, and the essence of me, and the things that I choose to do as a grown-ass woman, can inspire you to do the same. They don’t have to be like me – you need to be like you, and never ever let somebody stop you or shame you from being yourself,” she said. “This is who I’ve always been – now everyone’s looking at it, and your criticism can just remain your criticism.”

She continued: “Your criticism has no effect on me, negative criticism has no stake in my life, no control over my life, over my emotions – I’m the happiest I’ve been, I’m surrounded by love and I just want to spread that love, and also spread these cheeks! And you know what? If you really, really don’t like my ass, you can kiss it. ‘Cause kissing it makes it go away, I promise.”

As the live stream continued, Lizzo went on to tackle the “shock” people expressed at her outfit, highlighting the beauty standards which continue to dictate the way people view women who dress in an “unorthodox” way.

“I just want y’all to know, like, it doesn’t matter what goes on on the internet. Like, nothing really breaks my joy. I’m a really solid, grounded person and I know that I’m shocking because you’ve never seen in a long time a body like mine doing whatever it wants to do, and dressing the way that it dresses, and moving the way that it moves,” she explained. 

Posting on her Instagram later on in the day, Lizzo chose to share some words of wisdom with her fans – and they were seriously inspiring.

“I’m blessed, and I want you to know that you’re blessed,” she explained. “I want you to know that you woke up this morning, and that’s a blessing, I want you to know the sun is shining somewhere, that’s a blessing, and even if it’s raining, it’s cleansing you – it’s a blessing. I want you to know that whatever you’re going through, if it doesn’t feel good, that you will feel good again, and you have whatever it takes to feel good again.

“You are capable. You deserve to feel good as hell, and you deserve to find that. And as proud as you are of me, I’m proud of you. I’m really proud of you – because life comes at you fast, and sometimes it can be so hard, but if I can make it, I know you can make it. We can make it together.”

Lizzo’s words are undeniably powerful – and a reminder that no matter what other people may think of us, there’s no shame in just being ourselves. What did we do to deserve such an angel? 

Images: Getty