Lizzo announced back in April that she had “quit” caving in to her detractors and that she had no place for “negative energy.”
The “Good as Hell” singer swiftly silenced internet haters when they made fun of her daring 2024 Met Gala ensemble, which featured a towering Victor Weinsanto corset headpiece and a botanical sculptural gown.
“If I’m not in your best dressed, you’re fatphobic,” the four-time Grammy winner wrote in an Instagram post shared shortly after her red carpet appearance.
Lizzo made the remark in response to all of the abuse she had been receiving about her appearance, especially the numerous parallels to inanimate items, like a menstruation cup.
But giving into the hate would dismiss all the work Lizzo’s team put into making the extravagant design.
Weinsanto spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the meticulous attention to detail that went into the dress which, in itself, took almost 700 hours to create.
The designer says that the gown, which originally debuted in Weinsanto’s spring/summer 2024 collection, was personalized for Lizzo by way of dying the fabric to match the pop star’s skin tone and carving out a face-opening in the corset-inspired headpiece so fans could actually see her glam, done by makeup artist Alexx Mayo.
“I didn’t want to be the designer responsible for a fall in front of the whole world,” Weinsanto told the outlet. “And honestly, now that the dress has been recreated for Lizzo, I like this version even better. It’s also perfect for showcasing her gorgeous body.”
Later on in the night, the Emmy winner changed into a fairy look for a Met Gala afterparty. Her second outfit included a magenta velvet corset with wing-like attachments, opera gloves and stilettos. She coordinated with friend SZA, who skipped the carpet but partied in a plunging floral-patterned yellow dress.
Three months after Lizzo tried and was rejected to have a sexual harassment lawsuit against her, brought by three of her former background dancers, dismissed, she made a comeback and attended the Met Gala.
In November, Lizzo used Instagram to address her followers amid the lawsuit, saying that she was taking some time to focus on her music, relationship “with people and food, my anxiety, my body, my business, and my trust issues with the world,” as well as herself.