January 2025. Lizzo shared on Instagram, celebrating that she hit her weight goal. She’d lost 16% body fat, and she hadn’t seen that number onthe scale since 2014. You might think people would be pleased for her.
Nope. Some fans felt betrayed. Others quickly lamented that she must be using Ozempic. Some of the comments that came said she was abandoning plus-size women. The internet made Lizzo’s weight loss everyone’s business when it’s nobody’s business but hers. Says a lot more about us than her.
It Started When Everything Fell Apart
Lizzo weight loss didn’t come about because she rolled out of bed and decided she wanted to be skinny. Begun in autumn 2023, when she was severely depressed. Her former backup dancers sued her for fostering a hostile work environment and weight shaming. Ironic, right? The body positivity iconis getting accused of fat shaming. The lawsuit destroyed her.
She wrote in November on Substack that during that period, she became profoundly suicidal. “I felt like the whole world abandoned me,” he said. She cut off her loved ones. Couldn’t trust anyone.
It was then that she began what she calls her “weight release journey.” Not weight loss. Weight release. It wasn’t about getting thin. It was to lighten the load of everything she’d been carrying. Her dad died in 2009. She’d been in abusive relationships. Been supporting her family financially since 2016. The weight wasn’t just physical.
What She Actually Did
No, Lizzo did not undergo any weight loss surgery. She didn’t use Ozempic, despite everyone’s insistence that she should. She tried Ozempic once and said it didn’t work for her. Just made her feel weird. Instead, she got methodical. Training three times a week. Pilates. Walking. Playing pickleball. Dancing. Hired a chef for meal prep. Started eating more protein and less sugar.
Added beef, chicken, and fish back after being vegan didn’t work for her body. Lymphatic massages. Wood therapy. Monthly detoxes. Drank more water. Cut way back on booze. Got more sleep. Worked on lowering her cortisol. All the stuff that actually works but takes forever and isn’t glamorous. The slow, boring way. By January 2025, she’d lost 10.5 BMI points and 16% body fat. Around 60 pounds total based on reports. Posted a weight loss selfie showing her stats and celebrated.
The Ozempic Thing Won’t Die
People kept accusing her anyway. Lizzo’s weight loss, which resulted from her use of Ozempic, became a widespread narrative. Strangers were convinced she was lying. She addressed it multiple times. Posted workout videos showing herself drenched in sweat. Shared what she eats in a day. Made a TikTok in September 2024 saying, “When you finally get Ozempic allegations after 5 months of weight training and calorie deficit,” and acted like it was a reward.
She even wrote a song about it called “IDGAS,” where she raps, “I lost weight; let me guess, it’s Ozempic.” Then she says she doesn’t give a shit what people think. For Halloween 2024, she dressed up as a fake Ozempic package after South Park mocked her. The costume said, “Need self-love? Try Lizzo! Lose guilt. Gain confidence.” Pretty genius. But rumors kept coming. A plastic surgeon told the Daily Mail she had “Ozempic face” from losing weight too fast.
Except she’d been losing weight slowly for over a year. People forget how much Lizzo’s weight loss surgery costs because she didn’t have surgery. They forget Ozempic costs money and has side effects because she’s not on it. They see someone bigger get smaller and assume it must be drugs. Can’t possibly be hard work over two years.
The Body Positivity Backlash
Then there’s the other side. People are mad at her for losing weight at all. Some fans felt betrayed. She’d been this voice for big girls loving themselves. Now she was getting smaller. It felt like she was being abandoned. This is how Lizzo put it in that November 2025 Substack essay. “We’re in an era where the bigger girls are getting smaller because they’re tired of being judged. And now those bigger girls are being judged for getting smaller by the very community they used to empower.” She never expressed a desire to be thin.
“I don’t even know if I could really qualify to be ‘thin’.” I will have the stretch marks and skin of a very heavy woman forever. And I’m proud of that.” But she did want to change how she felt in her body. “If a woman wants to change, they should be able to change. Pretty reasonable. She also called out how body positive movement has been affected by drugs like Ozempic becoming popular. Plus-size models aren’t getting booked as much. Extended sizes are harder to find. “We have a lot of work to do to undo the effects of the Ozempic boom.”
Why This Whole Thing Sucks
Lizzo got judged when she was bigger. People made fun of her constantly. Trolls called her names. Said she was promoting obesity just by existing. Now she’s smaller and getting judged for that too. Can’t win either way. Wasn’t thin enough for mainstream beauty standards before. Now not big enough for body positivity standards. Stuck in this middle zone where everyone’s mad.
The wildest part? She’s been documenting her fitness journey since 2021. Posted workouts. Talked about her back pain. Showed herself doing Stairmaster and Pilates. None of it was secret. But people only paid attention when the results became obvious. Then immediately decided she must be cheating. Look, Ozempic’s a real thing lots of celebrities use. Some are open about it. Others lie. But when someone’s showing you their gym sessions and meal prep for years, maybe believe them?
What She’s Doing Now
Lizzo’s still touring. Still making music. Fifth album coming. Modeling for her own shapewear line, Yitty. Posting bikini pics because why not. She said in April 2025 on Jay Shetty’s podcast that she’s gained a sense of self through this. Found a lifestyle she actually loves and can maintain. Never about being skinny. About feeling better. Her back doesn’t hurt anymore when she does her hair.
She can wear heels to the grocery store without her feet killing her. Small things that improve quality of life. Been real about hard days, too. Posted on TikTok in September 2024, saying she overate and felt terrible about it. Reminded herself and everyone that bodies need nourishment and brains need comfort. Journey’s not perfect. In November 2024, she wrote a whole Substack essay processing everything.
The depression. The scandal. The weight release. The backlash from both sides. She’s trying to navigate being a person with a body that exists in public while everyone treats that body like community property they get to have opinions about.
What Actually Matters
Lizzo’s weight loss happened because she was depressed and dealing with a lawsuit, and decided to focus on her health might help. It did. She feels better physically and mentally. Whether she used Ozempic or surgery,y or magic beans shouldn’t matter. Her body. Her choice. Whether she’s betraying body positivity by losing weight is a question that treats her like she owes us something. She doesn’t.
Never signed a contract that she would stay a certain size to make other people feel good. She is a 37-year-old woman who lived through hell, figured out how to get by, and came out healthier. That’s it. All that’s left is noise from people who consider themselves entitled to decide what another person does with their body and lifestyle. Perhaps we should let Lizzo be Lizzo and mind our own business.
Also Read: Lee Majors: How the Six Million Dollar Man Built His Real Fortune
