
This post deals with eating disorders and might be triggering for some readers.
To most of the world, award-winning, chart-topping musician Lizzo has ceased to be a person.
When looked at through a pop culture lens we've labelled her with literally everything. From a musical genius to a breaker of barriers, a body image warrior and, in the more extreme cases, our saviour.
The fact that these titles are ones she never asked for make that crown we've placed atop her head all the heavier.
This week, the Grammy-winning musician posted two reels to her Instagram account documenting her experience taking part in a 10-day smoothie diet detox.
Lizzo noted that she was undertaking the detox under the care of a nutritionist and said of her decision "I drank a lot, I ate a lot of spicy things and things that f**ked my stomach up, and I wanted to reverse it and get back to where I was".
The videos immediately triggered an avalanche of news headlines, comments and conversations alleging that Lizzo was promoting diet culture and disordered eating.
Basically, the conclusion was that she had let us all down.
Listen to The Spill hosts explain the real discomfort behind the Lizzo conversation. Post continues after podcast.
Lizzo then addressed the conversation in an Instagram post where she urged her followers to not starve themselves.
"I detoxed my body and I’m still fat," she wrote. "I love my body and I’m still fat. I’m beautiful and I’m still fat. These things are not mutually exclusive.
"To the people who look to me, please do not starve yourselves.
"You don’t have to do that to be beautiful or healthy. That was my way. You can do life your way. Remember, despite anything anyone says or does DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH YOUR BODY.”
Despite this post, the conversation rages on.
Now with the added pressure for us all to come to one singular conclusion on the issue. To assign a villain to a narrative that is so much bigger than one series of social media posts.
Yet, the reality here is that multiple truths can exist within this conversation all at the same time.
For instance, it's true that conversations around detoxing, liquid diets and food restriction are triggering and dangerous for many women and men.
There's no denying that when this conversation appeared in people's social media feeds this week, in any form, that it triggered a cold and all-encompassing fear.
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