Lizzo Talks BLM and Criticises #BlackOutTuesday 

Pop sensation Lizzo recently sat down for an Instagram LIVE session with Black Visions Collective, a black-led organisation that supports trans and queer members of the black community. The session covered hope for change, commentary on the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement, intersectionality and everything in between. 

Lizzo, who has has been extremely vocal about racial discrimination, now and in the past, has been contributing to the recent wave of demonstrations in whatever way she can. From handing over her social media platforms to members of the community to signing petitions to defund the police, her activism spans from online forums to on ground demonstrations. 

Talking about the current movement and its gravity, Lizzo said: “I’ve never seen anything like this…I’m actually hopeful. I knew Minneapolis would always be a part of the revolution. Prince always knew!”. This isn;t the first time the singer-songwriter has taken her voice to the ground. She has taken part in protests before. 

Speaking of the importance of intersectionality in the movement, Lizzo emphasized: ” If all of the people realized — if all of the marches came together — what we could do, the problems look different. The consequences look different. But the oppressors look exactly the same”. She also commented on the importance of the artist community coming together and raising their voice against a corrupt system, fighting for racial equality. 

Earlier in the week, Lizzo posted a video to Instagram calling out the #BlackOutTuesday campaign that overrun Instagram and Twitter feeds everywhere. The campaign, which was intended to stay silent about things that don;t matter and speak out against things that do, ended up disrupting the Black Lives Matter movement. 

The video saw Lizzo encouraging people to contribute to the BLM movement by posting information about it rather than posting plain black squares. 

By: Ahalya Narayanan