Lizzo on taking 'gap year' and protecting her peace

Lizzo is preparing to release her upcoming album, Love in Real Life, and is reflecting on the mental health journey that led up to it. 

The singer joined the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast, where she discussed taking a "gap year" from releasing music.

"I don’t feel like I’ve expressed myself fully in the last two years, like how I want to. I feel like I’ve been kind of holding my tongue and like staying to myself, but I think that it’s for the best because you know, running your mouth these days,” Lizzo said.

She explained that she took a break to protect her peace, but people misinterpreted her decision. 

"Sometimes it’s just unnecessary and sometimes it can get you into some stuff you wasn’t even trying to get into because people will misinterpret it and run with it. I found when I was like, I’m taking a gap year, I’m protecting my peace. But like, people were like, wait, so what’s that supposed to mean?"

The About Damn Time crooner has already released two songs from her upcoming album, Still Bad and the title track. 

This marks her first proper releases since 2022's Special, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the two-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single About Damn Time.

The album is also her first since a harassment lawsuit was filed against her by three former dancers in August 2023. 

The lawsuit accuses Lizzo and her Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. of various wrongdoing, but Lizzo has denied the claims, calling them "false allegations" and "sensationalized stories."

Lizzo opened up about how public perception affected her, saying, "I think when it was out of my control and someone else could tell a story about me that wasn’t true and people believed it, it crushed me." 

She added, "I think what I learned about fame is, even if that’s really me, it just becomes kind of like a, a fictional story that you, it’s a character, it’s a brand, it’s a thing that now doesn’t belong to you anymore."

The singer emphasized the importance of staying true to herself, saying, "Whoever Lizzo is to the world is not really even me. And that disconnect is depressing. And I think the only remedy to that is continuing to be myself. That’s the time. I just have to continue to be me and people will see me for who I am."

Lizzo concluded, "I’m never gonna stop… If anything, I’m more careful now. I can’t just let any author into my life who can make me a villain. I can’t do that anymore. ’cause I’m the author and I. Taking back my narrative by continuing to tell my story from me, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to do that."