Why Roseanne Barr Thinks Lizzo Should ‘Thank’ Her

Roseanne Barr claims Lizzo owes it all to her. The controversial comedian recently took to Instagram to reflect on her infamous Vanity Fair cover from February 1994. The cover featured the comedian rocking black lingerie while sitting in a wooden chair and holding a cut lemon in a sensual pose. Instead of sharing a message about the cover, she says she’s owed props from the “Truth Hurts” singer. “When is [Lizzo] going to thank me for paving the way,” she captioned the post. 

Barr, 70, received praise for breaking the mold at the time with the cover. But others criticized her for taking shots at Lizzo, 35. “You definitely helped the bigger girls however there were many before and will be many after you. How about celebrating with Lizzo rather than bashing. Women need to lift women up not down. Not hating freaking love you just wish you went about this different,” a follower wrote in the comment section of the post.

Since Lizzo entered the spotlight, she has been the poster child for body positivity. Whether she’s baring it all, or simply embracing a figure that’s been deemed non-convention, or clapping back at her critics, she’s become a role model for the confidence of women of any age. “I’m all about body positivity and self-love because I believe that we can save the world if we first save ourselves,” she said during a show in Red Room in Sydney, Australia, per PEOPLE Magazine.

She’s also admitted that she wants to change the narrative about fuller-sized women. In a 2020 interview with Vogue, she told the publication: “‘I think it’s lazy for me to just say I’m body positive at this point. ‘It’s easy. I would like to be body-normative. I want to normalize my body. And not just be like, ‘Ooh, look at this cool movement. Being fat is body positive.’ No, being fat is normal. I think now, I owe it to the people who started this to not just stop here. We have to make people uncomfortable again, so that we can continue to change. Change is always uncomfortable, right?’”