Jameela Jamil Praises Lizzo for Body-Positive Message After Lakers Outfit Controversy

At least one person is voicing their support for Lizzo‘s revealing outfit at the Lakers game Sunday night. Amid a swirl of backlash and controversy, actress Jameela Jamil, known for speaking out against celebrities promoting unhealthy body images and diet practices, praised the “Truth Hurts” rapper on Tuesday for continuing to share a message of body positive with her fanbase.

Replying to one commenter who responded that regardless of body type, “u can’t dress like that when there’s family,” Jamil pointed towards the scantily clad cheerleaders that people take no issue with.

Jamil’s message of support came just hours after Lizzo spoke out about the backlash she had received in an Instagram Live video Monday night. Addressing the harsh comments criticizing her body and those calling her outfit inappropriate, the rapper proclaimed that “nothing really breaks my joy” and that she is not “going to shrink myself because somebody thinks that I’m not sexy to them.”

“Who I am and the essence of me and the things I choose to do as a grown ass woman can inspire you to do the same,” she said 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. This is who I’ve always been.”

“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,” she continued. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been I’m surrounded by love and I just want to spread that love – and also spread these cheeks. And you know what? If you really, really don’t like my ass, you can kiss it. ‘Cause kissing it makes it go away, I promise.”

“…I don’t want to censor myself because I’m suddenly famous, or I don’t want to censor myself because everyone’s looking at me now. I’m not going to quiet myself, I’m not going to shrink myself because somebody thinks that I’m not sexy to them,” she added.

Prior to Sunday’s controversy, which was sparked after she twerked while appearing on the jumbotron, revealing her bare backside in a thong, Lizzo had spoken about self-love and body image.

“I take self-love very seriously. And I take it seriously because when I was younger, I wanted to change everything about myself,” she revealed in a profile from ELLE magazine’s Women in Music issue. “I didn’t love who I was. And the reason I didn’t love who I was is because I was told I wasn’t lovable by the media, by [people at] school, by not seeing myself in beauty ads, by not seeing myself in television…by lack of representation.”