@Lizzo Cried To Facebook And Instagram...So They Start Banning Comments That F-A-T Shamed Her

@Lizzo Cried To Facebook And Instagram...So They Start Banning Comments That F-A-T Shamed Her

Instagram and Facebook have removed several hateful comments on Lizzo’s accounts after the singer opened up on Instagram Live about the “fat-phobic,” “racist” and “hurtful” attacks she’s received on social media, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday. The removed comments are those that go against Facebook’s and Instagram’s rules against hate speech and harassment, the spokesperson said. In a since-deleted video shared earlier this week, the artist teared up as she shared the emotional toll of receiving hateful comments — especially when she described working 12-hour days with rehearsals, writing music, recording in the studio, filming and press engagements. “On the days when I should feel the happiest, it just — I feel so down,” she said. “Sometimes I feel like the world just don’t love me back. It’s like it doesn’t matter how much positive energy you put into the world, you’re still gonna have people who have something mean to say about you.” She specifically called out trolls who were making derogatory comments about her appearance. “What I won’t accept is y’all doing this to Black women over and over and over again, especially us big Black girls,” she said. “When we don’t fit into the box that you want to put us in, you just unleash hatred onto us. It’s not cool. I’m doing this shit for the big Black women in the future who just want to live their lives without being scrutinized or put into boxes.” Lizzo’s video calling out the derogatory comments also comes just a week after Instagram unveiled a new feature that allows users to limit comments and DM requests during “spikes of increased attention.” The feature, which users can opt in or out of, automatically hides comments from accounts that don’t follow the user or only recently followed the user.

Oshay Duke Jackson