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Lizzo explains how her new video explores the 'juxtaposition' of how Black women are seen

Everyone loves a superhero, but what about when she takes off the mask?

Lizzo Music/Youtube, @lizzobeeating/Instagram

"America loves a Black woman as superhero, but absolutely hates her as a human being."

Lizzo has taken her hero status to new levels in her latest music video—becoming a full-fledged caped crusader.

The story follows Lizzo as a waitress with a secret identity as a Marvel-esque superhero, who saves strangers from peril. In particular, she saves a little Black girl from getting hit by a car, reminding her just how special she is.

We also see that while doing heroic deeds, Lizzo is adored by the crowd—even by those who initially hold up signs in protest. As a regular Black woman, however, Lizzo (or “Melly,” as it says on her waitress name tag) doesn’t garner nearly as much respect. That is, until she starts standing up for herself.


The video, of course, is for her song “Special,” which has universal resonance as a power anthem of self-love. But in a voice note shared to her Instagram account, Lizzo explained that for the visual story, she wanted to tap into the specific point-of-view of a Black woman.

"The music video starts off as showing the superhero, the Black woman as superhero. And it's like, America loves a Black woman as superhero, but absolutely hates her as a human being," she said.

She continued, "The glorious superhero, you see her doing the regular life-saving, press, everyone loves her. And then she takes off her costume, it's a Black woman and just showing the juxtaposition of how she gets treated in the real world."

In her caption, the singer shared how she would like for others who look like her to receive the same kind of love that she gets from her fans. “Every night on stage I say ‘thank you for supporting me. For loving me. And when you see someone that looks like me in the Real World, keep that same energy.’ What good is representation if I’m the only one benefiting?”

While that perspective might have been the “seed that planted” the idea for the video, Lizzo did share that the story “is for anyone who has felt unseen, alone, disrespected. I see you.”

Watch the superpowered video below:

Real heroes lift others up. They help make the world a better place for everyone. If anyone fits that bill, it’s Lizzo. And she doesn’t even need a cape to do it.

Quentin Brunson proposed to his girlfriend Ashleigh Mann with the help of Adele and friends.

Last night, Adele's first live concert in four years aired on CBS, and it was a night to remember for more reasons than that.

Held at the beautiful Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, the concert was a star-studded event with gorgeous views of the city. Hearing and seeing Adele sing in a stunning black evening gown while the sun set behind her felt almost indulgent in its perfection, but the night was made even more special with a surprise proposal Adele helped orchestrate.

After Adele told the audience to be "really bloody quiet" and had the lights turned down, Quentin Brunson led his girlfriend, Ashleigh Mann, to the front of the stage. She was wearing noise-canceling headphones and a blindfold and had no idea where she was. When she took them off, she found Quentin down on one knee. She could see and hear the crowd, but it wasn't until after Quentin went through his tearful proposal that Ashleigh found out where she was and who she was with.

Watch:


Can you even imagine? "What is happening? Where am I? OMG, I'm getting engaged! Oh, Adele—HELLO! What? I'm on you're 'One Night Only' special that millions of people around the world are going to be watching on television? Take a seat in the front row, you say? Right here between Lizzo and Melissa McCarthy? UM, OKAY. Oh, you're singing to me now. Am I dreaming?"

How does one even take in such an experience? It was all so beautiful and clever and surprisingly real. Ashleigh's "Oh my god, I've been your girlfriend for so long" and her "In real life?" during the proposal and her simple, "Yeah" that sealed the deal were so dang cute. But her face when she saw Adele was absolutely priceless. And then Adele's cackle—AH HA!

The performance of "To Make You Feel My Love," just iced the cake. So, so sweet. We're all wiping our eyes with you, Melissa McCarthy.

Quentin and Ashleigh were interviewed by Gayle King on CBS This Morning and shared how the proposal came to be:

Ashleigh said she thought they were going to go on a hayride because they had been talking about going to a pumpkin patch. Ha.

Quentin himself didn't even know the surprise proposal opportunity was going to involve Adele herself until a couple of days before it happened. And the couple has had to keep the whole thing a secret since the filming—even from their friends and family—which had to have been torture.

What a fun and memorable night. Even people who aren't fans of public proposals gave props to the surprise. Any proposal that involves Adele singing directly to you in person is pretty much impossible to criticize and impossible to top.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Even though 68% of women in America where size 14 or above, plus sized women tend to draw more heat for the outfits that they wear, especially if those outfits are even remotely racy. Earlier this week, Lizzo was spotted at a LA Lakers game wearing the dress heard round the internet. Dubbed the "thong dress," Lizzo's t-shirt dress was straightforward in the front, but the back featured cutouts featuring her thong and fishnet stockings.

During the game, Lizzo twerked when the Laker Girls danced to her song "Juice," giving the crowd a full view of her ensemble.


Lizzo TWERKS IN THONG For LeBron, & Karl Anthony Towns At Staples Center #Lizzo #LeBron #TruthHurtsyoutu.be


Some people were critical of Lizzo's choice of outfit, calling it unsanitary at best, and wildly inappropriate at medium-worst.





RELATED: A plus-sized fashion blogger was shamed for dressing like Meghan Markle. Her response was perfect.

However, others jumped to Lizzo's defense, with some pointing out that there's a double standard when it comes to beauty. Lizzo wouldn't be receiving the same criticism if she had a different body type.








But Lizzo doesn't care what the world thinks about her thong dress. She came to her own defense when she posted an Instagram live video with her thoughts about other people's thoughts about her dress.


"Like, this is who I've always been," Lizzo says in the video. "Now everyone's looking at it and your criticism can just remain your criticism. Your criticism has no effect on me. Negative criticism has no stake in my life, no control over my life, over my emotions. I'm the happiest I've ever been, I'm surrounded by love."

Lizzo is all about self-love, and wants others to love themselves as well. "Who I am and the essence of me and the things that I choose to do as a grown-ass woman can inspire you to do the same," Lizzo says in the video "You don't have to be like me. You need to be like you. And never ever let somebody stop you or shame you from being yourself."

RELATED: Lisa Kudrow opened up about the constant body shaming she and her co-stars experienced on the set of Friends.

Lizzo had a final message to those who didn't like her dress. "I just wanna spread that love and also spread these cheeks," she said. "And you know what, if you really don't like my a**, you can kiss it. 'Cause kissing it makes it go away, I promise."

Lizzo also posted a video of Rihanna twerking while wearing a see-through dress, calling it her "inspiration."

Lizzo was recently named TIME Magazine's entertainer of the year, so it looks like she's getting the last laugh.

The truth doesn't hurt for an elementary school teacher in California who's gone viral for teaching her class an empowering remix of one of Lizzo's hit songs.

Ms. Mallari — who teaches at Los Medanos Elementary School in Pittsburg, east of San Francisco — took the singer's song, "Truth Hurts," and reworked the lyrics to teach her students how to be great.

Lizzo's song made history this year for being the longest running number one single from a female rap artist. The catchy original lyrics are about boy problems, but Mallari's remix teaches her students about fairness, helping each other out, and embracing their own greatness.


RELATED: This 'feel-good' story about helping out a cash strapped teacher sends the wrong message about how our system is failing teachers

Let's be great 'cuz I know we are great.
I just took an E.L.A. test, turns out I'm 100% that smart,
Even when I'm feelin' lazy.
Yea, I got math problems, that's the student in me.
Buzz buzz then I solve them, that's the worker (bee) in me.
You wanna have a good friend who's committed,
Help you with your homework, just a little.
You know I'll hold you down, because you got my back.
And that's the sound of the yellow and black!
Let's be great 'cuz I know we are great.
Let's hurry, we don't wanna be late.
Choose a crate or a wobbly chair.
Let's take turns so we know it is fair.
In this class you'll never catch us fighting.
Time's up, we need to start our writing.
Smart spots makes learning more exciting.

A video of Mallari dancing on the desks while leading the class in her rendition was shared on social media and quickly received widespread attention, including from the queen, Lizzo, herself.

RELATED: 9 handwritten notes from students to their teachers that are just heartbreaking

It's so great to see a teacher connecting with her students in such a powerful.