Lizzo expressed wide-eyed shock — and apparent excitement — in response to “South Park” name-dropping her this week in its obesity-themed special.
The rapper and singer, who blind-reacted to the scene in a TikTok video shared Saturday, jokingly told viewers that her “worst fear had been actualized”: to be name-checked in a “South Park” episode.
In “South Park: The End of Obesity,” which premiered Friday on Paramount+, Cartman embarks on a quest for weight-loss medication. When he first learns about the anti-obesity drugs and discovers he can’t afford them, his doctor prescribes Cartman a cheaper alternative: a medication named “Lizzo,” given in the form of what appears to be an album.
During a subsequent commercial for “Lizzo,” an upbeat voice touts the drug as making users “feel good about [their] weight,” claiming that 70% of those who took it “no longer cared how much they weighed.”
“Lizzo helps you eat everything you want and keep physical activity to a minimum,” the voice-over said, as Lizzo filmed herself watching with eyes wide and a hand over her mouth. “Some patients report constipation while listening to Lizzo. Stop listening to Lizzo if you experience suicidal thoughts. Serious side effects may include pancreatitis, hypothermia and literally [excreting] out your ears.”
“That’s crazy. I just feel like, damn, I’m really that b—-,” she said, adding: “I really show the world how to love yourself and not give a f— to the point where these men in Colorado know who the f— I am and put it on their cartoon that’s been around for 25 years.”
Representatives for Lizzo and Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The episode came amid an ongoing craze around drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy, driven over the past year by celebrities and influencers who have reported taking them to lose weight quickly.
Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Jefferson, is known for promoting body positivity in her lyrics and on social media. In the episode, Cartman’s doctor described her as “a really good singer who talks about body positivity and just being happy with the way you look.”
When Cartman first receives his prescription to listen to Lizzo five times a day and watch her videos each night before bed, he’s less than enthused.
“Rich people get Ozempic. Poor people get body positivity,” he says at one point.
But by the end of the episode, when he and his friends fail to secure weight-loss drugs for Cartman after going on an absurd adventure, they appear to have shifted their stance.
In a monologue given in the school cafeteria, Kyle reveals he was “wrong” about thinking that “fat people just needed more willpower.” He criticizes sugar, pharmaceutical companies and insurers, lamenting their efforts to profit off of the masses.
“How can anybody have willpower when all these forces are manipulating us every day? It’s impossible. And I’ve learned one very important thing. It isn’t fair to put the blame on anyone for their weight,” Kyle says, before telling Cartman that “we’re not going to be critical of anyone over their weight ever again.”
The episode comes less than a year after three of Lizzo’s former dancers sued the artist over allegations of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, including allegedly weight-shaming one of the dancers. Lizzo has denied the allegations.
