Accepting the People’s Champion Award at Tuesday’s People’s Choice Awards, Lizzo brought out 17 activists she believes ‘deserve the spotlight’ more than her.
Lizzo is beyond ready to be loved and she’s spreading that love around.
The “To Be Loved” and “About Damn Time” singer-songwriter was the People’s Champion award winner at Tuesday’s People’s Choice Awards, an honor recognizing the triple-threat entertainer‘s impact on music and television, as well as her commitment to championing diversity and inclusion.
However, instead of accepting the award herself, she presented 17 activists who she believed were more deserving of the recognition. One of them was Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, the 2020 shooting victim who died during a police drug raid on her home.
Lizzo was given a heartfelt introduction by her mother Shari Johnson-Jefferson who said her 34-year-old daughter “has shown us all that we don’t have to conform to anyone’s standards in order to be happy, to be creative and to feel worthy. I know that Lizzo has literally saved lives. No one is more deserving of this honor.”
Then, clad in a bold Alexander McQueen gown, the now-seasoned Grammy and Emmy Award winner took the stage to flip the script on the acceptance-speech playbook and bring attention to the women activists fighting for Indigenous, transgender, religious and cultural equity, among other causes.
“When I first heard about this award, I was on the fence about whether I should accept. Because if I’m the People’s Champ I don’t need a trophy championing people, you know what I’m saying?” Lizzo said upon taking the stage at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.
“I’m here tonight because to be an icon isn’t about how long you’ve had your platform. Being an icon is what you do with that platform. And ever since the beginning of my career, I’ve used my platform to amplify marginalized voices. So tonight, I am sharing this honor. Make some noise for the people, y’all,” she added, presenting a procession of activists who she believes “deserve the spotlight” and demanded that the people “give them their flowers.”
Here they are and what Lizzo had to say about them:
Amariyanna Copeny, also known as Little Miss Flint: A 15-year-old “who spent the past eight years fighting to ensure everyone in Flint [Mich.
