'The View' Goes on the Defensive for Lizzo Over James Madison Flute Backlash
Lizzo's performance with James Madison's 200-year-old crystal flute made waves earlier this week. The Library of Congress invited the music sensation to play the slice of American history, allowing her to later play it during her concert in D.C. and apparently destroy American history for some.
As usual, the praise and criticism toward Lizzo's performance and handling of the flute, one of around 1,700 flutes in the Library of Congress collection. She was invited on Monday and allowed to perform with the flute on Tuesday, and then faced a wave of criticism from the usual suspects by the week's end.
NOBODY HAS EVER HEARD THIS FAMOUS CRYSTAL FLUTE BEFORE
— FOLLOW @YITTY (@lizzo) September 28, 2022
NOW YOU HAVE
IM THE FIRST & ONLY PERSON TO EVER PLAY THIS PRESIDENTIAL 200-YEAR-OLD CRYSTAL FLUTE— THANK YOU @librarycongress ❤️ pic.twitter.com/VgXjpC49sO
She had some strong defenders in the hosts of The View, who weighed in on Friday. Alyssa Farah Griffin said that Lizzo was bringing "attention to history" by playing the flute, while Sunny Hostin dove in deeper to address where the concerns of the critics truly seem to lie.
"She invited Lizzo to come and do this, and that makes it history," Hostin said about the Library of Congress decision. "Then you have some people on the right who said that the Library of Congress really took out its 200-year-old flute that belonged to James Madison just so Lizzo could twerk with it [and that would] degrade our history.
"Well, James Madison owned 100 slaves – that's a degradation of history. It's a full-circle moment for American history... This is the promise of America: You have a slave's ancestor playing the 200-year-old flute," she added.
A flute @lizzo played in the Main Reading Room Monday (with permission from some lucky researchers who were there!) looks similar to the crystal one she had at her concert, but is actually plexiglass. It is also very rare & was manufactured when the material was first invented.🔊 pic.twitter.com/3i33D9NdQV
— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) September 28, 2022
There was no shortage of criticism, with all the major pundit names making an appearance. Candace Owens spoke about being offended by Lizzo's performance on Thursday. "They're giving her something that means a lot. The way and manner in which they gave it to her and the way and the manner in which she used it offends me, I'm not going to lie," Owens said. Fellow pundit Ben Shapiro devoted a chunk of his life to Lizzo's moment, taking a break from decoding "WAP" and Cardi B. Matt Walsh tied the moment to "racial retribution," and many others weighed in to say she degraded American history because of her weight and her twerking.
Meanwhile, others have pointed out that the planet is currently on a slow march toward eternity, making some wonder why the focus is Lizzo and a 200-year-old flute.