Lizzo is in some hot water after making comments about a certain pop star, but does she have a point? That’s what the internet is currently debating as a clip from the singer’s latest appearance on a podcast goes viral online.
On an episode of the Sibling Rivalry Podcast with former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” stars Bob the Drag Queen and Monét X Change, the singer, who is set to appear as Sister Rosetta Tharpe in an upcoming biopic, had some thoughts about Janet Jackson and her enduring legacy.
“I have to really clear up some sh*t up,” Lizzo explained on the podcast, clarifying her previous comments referring to Janet Jackson as the Queen of Pop. “People came for me on the Internet because I said Janet Jackson is the Queen of Pop.”
She went on to explain why she gives the “Miss You Much” singer that coveted title. “Here is why I said Janet is the Queen of Pop...Britney Spears is doing a Janet impression.” She then adds that Spears “said it” herself.
“Janet is her diva,” she explained. “There were no such things as Pop divas before Janet. Janet was first. She was famous when Madonna was a kid watching her on television.”
She added that she is just “putting it out there,” and that it’s “not because someone is better than the other. She was just first. And, she is Janet. She invented this sh-t.”
Of course, the second the internet got wind of this information, everyone took to social media to give their thoughts, including many Britney fans who were not vibing with the “Truth Hurts” singer’s statement.
In one particular tweet from a Spears’ fan account that received a lot of engagement, a user wrote, “Nobody thinks of THE Britney Spears as a Janet Jackson impersonator. She literally crafted her own sound and imagery at 16 and became the blueprint for every new pop girl.”
They then wrote, “Worry about your career lasting one summer and your latest tweet not even crossing 100 likes.”
While many Britney fans are upset with this comparison, is Lizzo wrong in calling that out? In many ways, Spears has been vocal about her love of Janet throughout the years, and it is hard to imagine what the pop landscape would’ve been like in the late 90s, without Janet holding it down for over a decade before her.
Even in one clip from years, which resurfaced on X in light of Lizzo’s comment, Spears recalls going to see a Janet show and meeting her for the first time. “I wanted to be her,” she says in the clip. Later in the clip, Janet recalls the moment they met, saying, “She said that I inspired her a great deal, and that’s so flattering.”
One user, defending Lizzo, wrote, “There are so many perfectly good reasons to come for Lizzo but Britney herself is very vocal about seeing Janet as a muse and the inspiration is obvious.”
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8jR6dWt/
If Britney’s love of the “Rhythm Nation” singer is so well documented, why are many Britney fans still so pressed about Lizzo’s comments?
It seems it’s less Lizzo’s sentiment and more her wording, specifically calling Britney an “impersonator” rather than a “fan.” Another user, while acknowledging that Britney has cited Janet as an inspiration to her in the past, took more issue with Lizzo referring to the pop star as an “impersonator.”
“Britney always loved and spoke about how she’s inspired by Janet,” the post on X reads. “Janet herself loves Britney. Idk what Lizzo is trying to do here.”