Lizzo says lack of diversity in magazines took a 'greater toll' on her mental health than bullies

Singer recalls feeling as though there was 'something wrong' with the way she looked

Lizzo has opened up about how the lack of size-inclusive media representation negatively impacted her mental health when she was growing up.

In an interview with British Vogue for its December issue, the singer explained that she used to feel as though there was something wrong with her.

“I would watch things on television and I would look at magazines and I would not see myself,” Lizzo told the publication.

"When you don't see yourself, you start to think something's wrong with you."

The "Good as Hell" singer, whose real name is Melissa Jefferson, added that the lack of diversity eventually took a “toll” on her mental health.

“You want to look like those things and when you realise it's a physical impossibility, you start to think, 'What the f*** is wrong with me?'

“I think that took a greater toll on me, psychologically, growing up than what anyone could have said to me.”

Lizzo also spoke about her experience with anxiety, revealing she channels any negative feelings into her performances.

“When I get really, really anxious before a show, I just go harder and harder and harder when I'm performing and I just go crazy,” Lizzo said.

"I don't know why, but my anxiety sometimes fuels who I am as a performer and who I am as an artist – and I know that is not the case for everyone."

The 31-year-old singer added: “I think if I was 21 right now, I would not be able to maintain this lifestyle without having major anxiety and panic attacks."

This isn’t the first time Lizzo has shared her thoughts about media representation and the body positivity movement.

(Kloss Films/British Vogue)

Earlier this year, the singer called out the double standard she sees in Hollywood and the beauty industry.

“When people look at my body and be like, ‘Oh my God, she’s so brave,’ it’s like, ‘No, I’m not.’ I’m just fine. I’m just me. I’m just sexy,” she told Glamour magazine.

Lizzo explained the double standard happens whenever she gets called “brave” for doing the same things a thinner woman would do without it being noteable.

(Kloss Films/British Vogue)

“If you saw Anne Hathaway in a bikini on a billboard, you wouldn’t call her brave. I just think there’s a double standard when it comes to women,” she added.

“I don’t like it when people think it’s hard for me to see myself as beautiful. I don’t like it when people are shocked that I’m doing it."