All the rumors are true.
All the rumors are true: Lizzo’s reality show just passed a DNA test, turns out it’s 100% that bitch.
The Grammy-winning superstar has long encouraged people of all shapes and sizes to feel good about themselves, campaigning through her music and social media for body positivity, self-love and empowerment and against fatphobia, abuse and body shame. Now she’s looking to do just that on her new Amazon Prime Video show, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.(opens in a new tab).
In the eight-episode series directed by Nneka Onuorah, Lizzo is on the hunt for more artists to join the Big Grrrls, her premier touring dance crew, mostly for a headlining performance at the big Bonnaroo festival. of Tennessee. It’s Lizzo’s first live show in two years after the pandemic hit, so the stakes are high, the pressure is on — you get it.
When Lizzo made the call, thousands responded with audition videos, which she says hasn’t been the singer’s experience before. “I asked dance agencies to pitch me great dancers, and they didn’t give me anything,” Lizzo says in Episode 1. “Girls who look like me just aren’t represented. So, it’s time to roll up my sleeves and find them myself. »
Long before this TV venture, Lizzo spent years amplifying body positivity and self-love, most recently calling out the hate speech she received after releasing “Rumors” with Cardi B in August 2021.” It’s fatphobic, it’s racist and it’s hurtful,” Lizzo said in an Instagram Live(opens in a new tab) at the time. “What I won’t accept is you doing this to black women over and over and over again, especially to us big black girls. When we don’t fit into the box you want to put us in, you unleash hate on us. It’s not cool.
In the show, Lizzo explains that this discrimination extends to the stage and its dancers, regardless of the amount of energy, talent and expertise invested in the performance. “When I got on stage, I got on stage. We hit them with the best Big Grrrl dancers in America, and we’re driving the crowd crazy. And we still get hit with that judgment shit,” she says in Episode 1.
Thus, Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls goes in the direction of Queer Eye and RuPaul’s Drag Race, in which positivity, support and the development of someone’s inner strength and potential are paramount. The goal is to shed both the abusive fools and your inner critic and get out of your own way, finding and amplifying your most authentic self, the name of the game. embodied is the goal,” Big Grrrl dancer Grace Holden said on the show.
Beware of (hope) Big Grrrls
Lizzo narrowed down the thousands to a group of finalists, the real stars, as with any reality TV show: Charity Holloway, Kiara Mooring, Moesha Perez, Ashley Williams, Arianna Davis, Isabel Jones, Jasmine Morrison, Asia Banks, Jayla Sullivan , and Sydney Bell. Lizzo states at the start of the show that she is looking for dancers with clean lines, star quality, stamina, ability to perform under pressure, and full commitment, but most importantly wants someone who will bring their story to the stage. – which means we need to get to know them too.
Watch Out for the Big Grrrls intentionally makes you fall in love with all the dancers vying for the stage – mostly because Lizzo, her team (including original Big Grrrls Chanta’ Marie Van, Shirlene Quigley and Grace Holden, creative director and choreographer Tanisha Scott, sensual movement coach Rashida KhanBey, choreographer Charm La’Donna and Holy Crap…SZA), and the dancers themselves actively want them all to win. Each dancer has personally been through so much bullshit to get here – unsolicited comments online and offline, fatphobic abuse, experiences of overt sexualization and desexualization, as well as their own personal obstacles – that they steadfastly support each other in what is a difficult process.
There are Asian banks(opens in a new tab), former captain of Alabama State HoneyBeez, an HBCU’s first all-plus-size dance team, who shares her grief at losing her father to the police. There’s Houston influencer Sydney Bell(opens in a new tab), whose introductory audition is enough for Lizzo to throw every cushion off her couch. There’s next-level freestyler Jayla Sullivan(opens in a new tab) from Portland, who shares her experience of being trans in the dance industry. “The world is watching you and doesn’t expect you to be able to do what I’m trying to do,” she says. “If anything, it just fuels the fire and I just want to say ‘fuck you’ to everyone. »
Yes, there’s a lot at stake in joining Lizzo’s troupe, but at its heart the show is a happy, strong montage of women honoring their bodies and destroying dancefloors, and it’s an absolute joy to watch. For the most part, finalists reflect on their own progress rather than complain about the success of other artists, and when that happens, Lizzo makes it clear that there’s no room for toxicity in the house (or in tour) from the start.
Look in the mirror like the fuck she’s the only one
On Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, Lizzo is an absolute natural host — her talking head moments deserve their own TikTok account, they’re so empowering and funny. She’s personally invested – it’s her inner circle of dancers she recruits for, after all – but she balances her bossy superstar energy, demanding high standards, with genuine love and encouraging energy. Basically, dancing in front of Lizzo should be the most intimidating thing anyone has ever done, but she encourages every performer to get out of their head and leave everything on the floor. Imagine performing your best moves while Lizzo shouts “Fuck it up!” ” yours. Pure magic.
One of the most emotional parts of this show for fans is the journey Lizzo herself goes on with the finalists — she even personally attends one of the group’s movement classes with healing artist Deja Joelle. There’s a scene in Episode 3 where Lizzo shows the band her just-released track ‘Rumors’ — the one she denounced after the hate speech — and the room descends into a glorious beat as she sings. Above. Next, Lizzo talks about liberation, being “humiliated on the internet” and her experience of receiving constant comments about her body. It’s one of the highlights of the show because it’s really digging into authenticity right now.
“I got a lot of love, I got a lot of hate, because of how I looked. As an artist, that happened often,” she says. “They don’t want big girls to be sexy. They don’t want us to be happy. And that’s why this show is so important to me because… It’s hard to love yourself in a world that doesn’t love you back. And I tried to do it so boldly. I put myself there. When you put yourself there, you are attacked.
Help you in your career, just a little
Beyond the inside and outside work we join the dancers for during the series, the unabashed joy and personal power amplification of Watch Out for the Big Girrrls comes down to the camera work and editing, thanks to director Nneka Onuorah, who also appears in the series. The performers take on dance challenges directly in front of the camera, as well as Lizzo and each other, with stitched sessions fully demonstrating incredible choreography, personal expression and timing. In episode 1, the first dance battle challenge is a show of pure talent, shot and edited like a scene from Step Up.
Of course, this is a competitive reality show, so in addition to the grand prize of joining Lizzo’s dance crew, the entertainer hands out two regular awards to keep everyone motivated. There’s the Juice Award, a cute juice box-shaped trophy named after Lizzo’s single and awarded to the person with a heart, who has overcome an obstacle. And of course there’s the 100 Percent That Bitch award, a trophy named for Lizzo’s iconic line from “Truth Hurts,” and given to someone who has achieved choreography, teamwork, and who has it. crushed overall. Yes, I will personally strive to attribute them to myself on a regular basis, and no one can stop me except Warner Music’s copyright department, probably.
Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls is one of the most uplifting and joyous reality TV shows you’re likely to watch, featuring eight episodes of pure triumph over society’s bullshit, accompanied by the greatest hits of the world. ‘artist. We know Lizzo is her own soulmate, but after this series you will pledge your allegiance.
Watch out for the big Grrrls(opens in a new tab) is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.(opens in a new tab)
