Source: SUZANNE CORDEIRO / Getty
The SXSW festival opened up with a keynote conversation featuring one of Texas’ brightest stars, singer, rapper, and actress Lizzo. She took that opportunity to call out the shocking recent policies of the state towards the LGBTQ community.
The Grammy Award-winning artist sat down for the talk to open up the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas on Sunday (March 13th) with Angela Yee of Power 105’s The Breakfast Club. The 45-minute conversation in front of a packed and energetic crowd was full of energy that Lizzo exuded while dressed in a rainbow-colored pantsuit, as well as her being unafraid to show some vulnerability and honesty about her journey and perspective. That set the stage for her response when she was asked about her take on the repressive laws that were being enacted by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other Republicans that have targeted women’s abortion rights but have also zeroed in on transgender individuals. One of those laws, issued on February 22nd, was to declare gender-affirming medical care as child abuse, allowing private citizens and medical facilities to report parents and their transgender children seeking care. A federal judge blocked the state of Texas from implementing it, and there has been an appeal filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“I’m proud to rep Houston, but I’m not proud to rep Texas politics right now,” the 33-year old artist said, which was greeted with loud applause. “And there are very regressive laws being passed. They are taking away the right for young children to have a chance to live authentically as themselves. And it’s a violation of human rights. Trans rights are human rights.” She also ripped conservative politicians for “being all up in my uterus”. “The abortion ban is atrocious,” Lizzo exclaimed. “Mind your business. Stay out of my body. This is not political.”
The artist also shared clips from her upcoming reality show with Amazon, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, which is set to premiere on March 24th. The show will capture her searching for “thick” dancers and models for her concerts. For Lizzo, the show is another chance for her to help someone else recognize their inner worth. “I want to lift these women up… I hope they all become superstars after this,” she said. She closed out the conversation by telling the audience that she was heading home to work on mastering the sequel to her popular debut album, ‘Cuz I Love You. “I worked real hard on this, so it better be good,” Lizzo said. “But it’s good.”
