Lizzo has shared her thoughts on a new South Park episode that pokes fun at her weight.
The singer took to social media to react to ‘The End of Obesity’ nine months after she faced allegations of weight-shaming by her backup dancers, which she still denies.
The episode centers around famously portly Eric Cartman’s quest to get Ozempic to lose some weight, and obstacles created by a lack of funds and insurance.
In response, a doctor tells him, ‘I’m going to write you a prescription for Lizzo. She’s a really good singer who talks about body positivity, and just being happy with the way you look. I want you to listen to Lizzo five times a day, and watch her videos just before bedtime.
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to be on Lizzo for the rest of your life,’ he adds, breaking the news as if it were something fatal.
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The singer took to social media to react to ‘The End of Obesity’ Saturday – nine months after she faced allegations of weight-shaming by her backup dancers. The episode, which aired on Paramount+ Friday, pokes fun at her weight and the culture surrounding body positivity
The 36-year-old, in turn, called the episode ‘crazy’, realizing its creators were satirically framing her as an alternative to the increasingly popular weight loss drug
The episode goes on to offer a phony disclaimer from the FDA, stating ‘Lizzo helps you eat everything you want, and keep physical activity to a minimum…. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis, hypothermia, and literally s****ing out of your ears.’
‘Stop listening to Lizzo if you experience suicidal thoughts,’ a disembodied voice framed as being from the agency goes on to add.
Lizzo, unsurprisingly, reacted, after finding notoriety for themes of body positivity found in both her songs and social media.
The 36-year-old in turn called the episode ‘crazy’, realizing creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker were satirically framing her as the alternative to Ozempic.
Ozempic is a drug for diabetes that has become increasingly popular for weight-loss purposes in recent months – a phenomenon Lizzo Saturday appeared to take no issue being compared to.
In fact, she relished in it, reacting to a scene shilling the make-believe treatment bearing her name.
‘I really showed the world how to love yourself and not give a f**k to the point where these men in Colorado know who the f**k I am and put it in their cartoon that’s been around for 25 years,’ she said in a clip posted to her TikTok.
‘I showed you all how to not give a f**k and I’m going to keep on showing you how to not give a f**k.’
The episode centers around famously portly Eric Cartman’s quest to get Ozempic to lose some weight, and obstacles created by a lack of funds and insurance
In response, a doctor tells him, ‘I’m going to write you a prescription for Lizzo’ – a made-up drug that make users ok with their weight
The episode goes on to offer a phony disclaimer from the FDA, stating ‘Lizzo helps you eat everything you want, and keep physical activity to a minimum…. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis, hypothermia, and literally s****ing out of your ears’
Lizzo, unsurprisingly, reacted, after finding notoriety for themes of body positivity found in both her songs and social media. The 36-year-old in turn called the episode ‘crazy’, realizing creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker were satirically framing her as a weight loss method
‘I really showed the world how to love yourself and not give a f**k to the point where these men in Colorado know who the f**k I am and put it in their cartoon that’s been around for 25 years,’ she said on TikTok. ‘I showed you all how to not give a f**k, and I’m going to keep on showing you how to not give a f**k’
Aside from that, the minute and a half snippet appeared to leave the singer speechless, with her mouth left agape as showrunners Matt Stone and Trey Parker attempted to tear her a new one.
The pair have famously skewered hundreds of celebrities ranging from the UK’s royal family to Barbra Streisand, making a host of enemies over the years in the process.
Lizzo, though, did not appear so vexed – even as the voices of Parker and Stone issues a sequence of quips in the background.
‘I’m telling you, Shelia – these new drugs are pretty amazing,’ says one of the leading boys’ mothers at the start of the pseudo commercial, as Lizzo listens in.
‘I was feeling so ashamed of myself, watching Randy [her husband] go out and exercise all the time and not eating as much – but I just don’t have the same kind of willpower he has.’
When asked what sort of drugs she was on, mom Sharon Marsh says it’s not the costly Ozempic, but the more affordable ‘Lizzo.’
‘My doctor said they would only pay for [Ozempic and other weight loss drugs] if I had diabetes,’ the character says at a point.
Ozempic is a drug for diabetes that has become increasingly popular for weight-loss purposes in recent months – a phenomenon Lizzo Saturday appeared to take no issue being compared to
‘But if you can’t afford them, how are you managing your weight,’ fellow character Shelia Brovloski asks.
‘Didn’t you know, Shelia? Now there’s a whole new obesity drug for those of us who can’t afford Ozempic. I controlled all my cravings to be thinner with Lizzo!’ the other mom answers – before Stone and Parker take over with a characteristic jingle for a make-believe drug that makes the user not care how heavy they are.
‘FDA-approved Lizzo makes you feel food about your weight,’ an informercial-esque voice asserts as Sharon holds a tube of topical medicine marked ‘Lizzo.’
The mom, in turn, adds: ‘I’ve lowered my standards, an expectations!’
Eventually, fan favorite Cartman – whose comedy comes from his size – goes to the doctor’s office in hopes of scoring Ozempic amid the weight-loss craze, but hits a snag as his medical insurance doesn’t cover the drug made for diabetes patients.
The doctor feels bad for Eric and tells him he’s going to pen him a prescription for Lizzo, which seemingly only provides users with a mindset that sees it as acceptable as being overweight.
Eventually, fan favorite Cartman – whose comedy comes from his size – goes to the doctor’s office in hopes of scoring Ozempic amid the weight-loss craze, but hits a snag as his medical insurance doesn’t cover the drug made for diabetes patients
The doctor feels bad for Eric and tells him he’s going to pen him a prescription for Lizzo, which seemingly only provides users with a mindset that sees it as acceptable as being overweight
Later in the episode Cartman declares: ‘Rich people get Ozempic, poor people get body positivity’ – poking fun at celebs such as Elon Musk and Chelsea Handler who have owned up to taking the costly drug intended for diabetics.
The special South Park: The End Of Obesity is now up for streaming on Paramount+.
Last July, dancers Arianna Davis, Noelle Rodriguez, Crystal Williams filed a lawsuit against Lizzo, alleging she had weight shamed them in an interview NBC News.
It accused the singer of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment – one rife with weight shaming, unsanctioned firings, and discriminations over a supposed health condition.
Each accused the singer of pressuring one of them to touch a nude performer in a strip club, a claim that Lizzo, like the others, denies.
She issued a statement insisting she was ‘not the villain’ in the case, which was put on hold last March while Lizzo challenges a January ruling that rejected her effort to dismiss the suit under a statute that makes it easier to quickly end meritless lawsuits that threaten free speech.
After the singer broke her silence on the suit – which is set to resume in a matter of months – the accusers expressed outrage over what they called a ‘disheartening’ response from the singer.
Williams told Channel 4: ‘Initially for me it just further deepened my disappointment in regards to how I was feeling and how I was treated.’
Last July, dancers Arianna Davis, Noelle Rodriguez, Crystal Williams filed a lawsuit against Lizzo, alleging she had weight shamed them in an interview NBC News. It accused the singer of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. As of writing, it remains ongoing
‘I think the overall theme in all this is that our experiences were our experiences and our traumas were our traumas. In bringing that forward, it feels like it was disregarded completely. It feels like we were made out to be putting out false allegations when that’s not the case.’
‘So yes, it was very disheartening to read and feel overlooked especially when she stands for what she stands for in regards to women’s empowerment – being an advocate for mental health – being an advocate for body positivity – and to just further prove that that’s not the case, because nothing was acknowledged in that statement.’
Rodriguez agreed, adding: ‘It’s shocking to read a statement like that. In her words and the way she’s saying this, it’s invalidating not only our experience that she was there first-hand to witness […] but also other women who have previously worked with her that have come forward in light of this.
‘She mentioned something in this statement [around] protecting women – where was that same sentiment when I stated to her and wanted to talk out things and saying ‘I’m resigning because I feel unsafe, I feel unheard, I’m disrespected’?’
Davis said: ‘A person can do good things, very good things and those don’t go away. The goodness you put out into the world – it stays there.
‘But two things can be true at the same time. Someone that does good things can also do can do bad things and the sentiment applies […] People have been affected, it’s not just us […] The consistency of wrongdoing is very telling.
‘I look up to the fact she was using her platform to address issues that other artists weren’t doing but knowing her now, it was performative.’
The dancers are seeking damages for emotional distress, unpaid wages, loss of earnings and lawyer’s fees for the allegations, including sexual, religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination and false imprisonment.
The amount they are seeking has yet to be made public.