Lizzo’s ‘Big Grrrls’ Wins Competition Series Emmy: ‘All I Wanted to See Was Someone Fat Like Me, Black Like Me’

Selome Hailu
·3 min read

“Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls” won the competition series Emmy on Monday night. This ends the four-year streak of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

The series sees the singer audition a group of women for the chance to be a Big Grrrl — one of the plus-sized backup dancers who perform with her on tour.

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Accepting the award in tears, Lizzo cried out for the Big Grrrls to join her onstage: “The trophy is nice, but my emotion is for these people who are on the stage with me. The stories that they shared, they’re not that unique. They just don’t get told. Let’s just tell more stories.”

“When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media,” she said. “Someone fat like me. Black like me. Beautiful like me. If I could go back and tell little Lizzo something, I would be like, ‘You’re going to see that person, but bitch, it’s going to have to be you.”

“One year ago, these women were filming this television show that would change their lives forever. They are Emmy award-winning superstars who are going on a world tour! Make some noise for my Big Grrrls. I love you so much. God bless y’all. This is for the big girls.”

“Watch Out For The Big Grrrls” may or may not return for a second season, which Lizzo explained in her Variety cover story in January: If I ever do another season, it will not be because of the way it was received, or whether it was critically acclaimed or not. It’s going to be out of necessity. If I need more dancers, this is the only way I know how to get dancers. I’ve been watching the industry change slowly since I’ve been in the game. I’ve watched it change, which is encouraging. I see lots of size inclusion in commercials. I’ll be looking and see a big Black girl dancing in the front. Sometimes I’ll watch that shit and be like, “Did I do that?”

Speaking to Variety in June, she said, “​​I’ve never really felt entitled to accolades or awards. My dream with music wasn’t to make a million dollars and win a Grammy. It was like, ‘I want to write a song that the whole world sings back at me.’ [With] ‘Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,’ I wanted to change the lives of the girls on my show, and my own life, and the lives of the people who watched it. So many people have watched and pointedly decided to speak to themselves better. To listen to and love their bodies. That is the greatest award anyone can ever hope for.”

Lizzo is currently on a world tour with her album “Special,” which debuted on July 15.

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