Lizzo responds to backlash over her thong outfit at basketball game: 'I'm not going to quiet myself'

Lizzo has responded to backlash surrounding her outfit choice for a recent basketball game, after her visible thong sparked a debate about body standards and the prevalence of fatphobia.

On Sunday, the rapper attended a match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles.

During a break in the game, Lizzo got up to dance as the Lakers’ female dancers performed a routine to the 31-year-old’s song "Juice," revealing a dress that had a cut-out section at the back that revealed her entire bottom.

The rapper’s brief performance court-side sparked a debate online, where some people praised her while others criticised the singer for the “inappropriate” outfit - commentary that was then called out as hypocritical and fatphobic.

Following the controversy, Lizzo appeared to address the incident on Instagram Live, where she explained that she will not “censor” herself.

“Who I am and the essence of me and the things that I choose to do as a grown-a** woman can inspire you to do the same,” the singer began. “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. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, I’m surrounded by love.”

Lizzo also addressed the criticism of her body, adding: “It doesn’t really matter what goes on on the internet, nothing really breaks my joy. I’m a really solid, grounded person, and I know that I’m shocking because you’ve never seen - in a long time - a body like mine doing whatever it wants to and dressing the way that it dresses and moving the way that it moves.”

After telling her critics that they can “kiss” her “a**” if they “really don’t like it,” the "Good As Hell" singer continued: “I don’t ever want to censor myself… I’m not going to quiet myself. I’m not going to shrink myself because somebody thinks that I’m not sexy to them.”

The rapper’s comments come after she revealed to British Vogue in December that she never saw herself represented when watched television or read magazines.

“When you don’t see yourself, you start to think something’s wrong with you,” she said. “I think that took a greater toll on me, psychologically, growing up than what anyone could have said to me.”