Lizzo responds to critics over smoothie cleanse: ‘Every big girl should do whatever the f*** they want’
Grammy Award-winner Lizzo, known for advocating self-love and media representation of plus size bodies, recently shared a series of videos of her 10-day detox juice cleanse on social media, and critics called her out for promoting diet culture.
In the video, the Juice singer detailed her 10-day smoothie cleanse journey, sharing that she decided to do it after she “drank a lot, and I ate a lot of food that f***ed my stomach up in Mexico.”
Lizzo, who has millions of followers across her social media accounts, also uploaded a second video, where she is narrates that she felt great on Days 9 and 10 of the cleanse and said, “I think that it’s just great to reset your stomach and reset things, especially when you deal with gastrointestinal issues like I do. But I think I look f***ing great, too.”
In both of her posts, she tagged JJ Smith, a nutritionist, weight-loss expert and the author of the book 10-day Green Smoothie Cleanse.
Some of Lizzo’s fans applauded her in the posts’ comments section for being the “healthy, beautiful, and body positivity queen” that she is, but a lot were disappointed and some called her out for “selling out to diet culture.”
Others also pointed out that promoting specific diets could be harmful, especially to those who have experienced eating disorders in the past.
“Just a little reminder for anyone reading this. Unless you have certain health problems (and if you do, you should consult your doctor before doing anything like this), your body already does a great job of cleansing/detoxing itself. No juice cleanse needed,” commented one.
“Is this a joke?” said another. “You don’t need to be dieting and promoting diet culture! Health can be found in so many places that don’t have to do with restricting what you eat,” added one commenter.
Following the backlash, Lizzo posted an Instagram story to respond and explain her decision to get on the smoothie cleanse, sharing that she would normally be “afraid and ashamed” to post things like this because “I feel like as a big girl, people just expect if you are doing something for health you’re doing it for like, a dramatic weight loss. And that is not the case.”
Lizzo, who has been openly sharing about her vegan diet and new workout routines on social media, explained that November was stressful for her that she “drank a lot, I ate a lot of spicy things and things that f***ed my stomach up, and I wanted to reverse it and get back to where I was.”
She continued that she is proud of herself and the results of the cleanse, which improved her sleep, hydration and mental stability.
“I’m a big girl who did a smoothie detox, and I wanted to share that with you guys. I got exactly what I wanted out of it, and every big girl should do whatever the f*** they want with their bodies.”
In a separate Instagram post, Lizzo, who, perhaps acknowledged the possible effects of her post to some people, wrote a message to her followers who look up to her to “please do not starve yourselves. I did not starve myself. I fed myself greens, water and fruit and protein and sunlight. You don’t have to do that to be beautiful or healthy.”
She concluded, “That was my way. You can do life your way. Remember, despite anything anyone says or does, DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH YOUR BODY.”