Lizzo just wants to be accepted for who she is

Lizzo just wants to be accepted for who she is

Now that Lizzo's highly anticipated fourth studio album, Special, is finally here, the singer is opening up about how her new music reflects where she is in life. It's no secret that the 34-year-old and her music have helped many people feel empowered and confident. Her new album is about getting that same energy back, she explained in a new interview with Zane Lowe for his Apple Music podcast. Her message to her fans and haters alike is simple: "Just accept everything from me," she said during the episode.

Lizzo realized how her fame means she both deals with people who feel comfortable using her as "some kind of punchline or joke" and how she uses her "amazing platform on stage as a tall black woman" to make room for others who look like her and come from similar backgrounds, she explained.

Citing lyrics from her new song "If You Love Me," in which she sings, "If you love me, you love all of me," Lizzo told Lowe that she is grateful that her fans show her so much love and hopes that they treat other people around her the same way.

“A lot of times it’s people who don’t look like me in the crowd,” she told Lowe about her shows. "I had moments where I thought, 'You're supporting me. You're supporting a big black woman on stage. You bought my concert tickets, I want to thank you for that. But when you're in the world, I want you to keep that same energy.'"

"If you can love me, you can treat great black women and people in the world with respect, which I don't think happens often," she continued. "And I don't want to be the token fat black girl that gets the respect. I want to be able to put myself in a position where I can make this life experience easier for people who look like me."

Lizzo went on to explain an additional message behind the song's lyrics: that people should accept every aspect of her. “If you love me, you love the fact that I look like that,” she said. “If you love my music, you love this body.”

This is far from the first time Lizzo has opened up about her appearance and how it relates to how she is treated. Back in March, the singer discussed all the social media comments she receives about her body in an interview with People. “We all know I’m fat,” she said at the time. "I know I'm fat. It doesn't bother me. I like being fat and I'm beautiful and I'm healthy. So can we move on? ... I don't think I'm the only one who wants us to be freed from this box we've been put in." (Related: Lizzo got honest about the hateful comments she received: 'It's unfair')

Lizzo has championed self-confidence and self-love for as long as she has been in the public eye, even when dealing with the negativity of others. There are people who "want to criticize what I do because there are levels that they don't accept," she told Lowe. "I just find that people are always kind of exceptions to me. It's like, 'I love her, except...' 'I love her, but...' It's like, man, just accept everything from me." Lizzo's latest interview and new album are a reminder that everyone deserves to be loved and accepted for who they are, no matter what they look like.