PHOENIX ARIZONA: Lizzo has been forced to lock her Twitter account after she received an influx of hateful messages following her Tina Turner tribute on Wednesday night, May 24. The "Truth Hurts" singer paid homage to the 'Queen of Rock n Roll' as she took to the stage for her latest show of her Special Tour in Phoenix, Arizona.
Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, effused over the music legend and said she hasn't "allowed myself to be sad" about the tragic loss and instead wanted to celebrate her. "Today, we lost an icon and I haven't allowed myself to be sad. I haven't allowed myself to cry," Lizzo said on the show, according to Daily Mail.
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"I don't want to right now because I'd much rather celebrate the incredible legend Tina Turner is," the 35-year-old continued. "As a black girl in a rock band, I would not exist if it were not for the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll". The emotional performer then shouted at the joyous crowd, "There wouldn't be no rock 'n' roll without Tina Turner!"
Lizzo performed Tina Turner's Proud Mary
The "Juice" and "Good as Hell" hitmaker put on a dazzling performance on stage as she sang "Proud Mary", Tina's 1970s smash hit, which made the crowds go wild and they began to sing along to the tune. She also danced to Turner's moves along with her backing dancers and ended the song by shouting, "We love you Tina Turner!"
Lizzo locked her Twitter account again
However, unfortunately things took a drastic turn for her as the singer revealed in a pair of now-deleted tweets that she had constantly been receiving hateful messages on social media. The bemused singer tweeted, "The amount of slander and hate I'm receiving on a daily basis is starting to confuse me." The tweet continued, "What am I actively doing to get this influx of disrespect in my mentions? I'm just trying to come on this app and enjoy social media like anyone else."
Lizzo also posted a tweet where she mentioned how she held her nerves despite facing unjustified backlash from the haters on social media for the past few days. "Anyways I been holding my tongue cus I don't wanna seem ungrateful but I have done so much cool s**t these last few weeks just for my mentions to be about how fat I am &/or use me for political discourse. Tired of this."
'I'm going back to protecting my peace'
According to WFMZ, the hip-hop star unlocked her Twitter account after the show and posted a video of her performance which reportedly garnered more hateful messages. Shortly after the tweet, she wrote, "Alright.....I am locking my page again. I just wanted to share my Tina Turner tribute with everyone....But I'm going back to protecting my peace." This means that only her approved followers can see and interact with her tweets.