This article contains inflammatory language that may offend some people.
Conservative author and talk show host Candace Owens has been pilloried on social media after she claimed that women are "emotionally manipulated" into supporting Lizzo, likening "fat acceptance" to a "death cult".
The political commentator, 33, retweeted an inflammatory post by personal trainer and self-proclaimed health coach Gina Bontempo, which read: "Obesity is on the rise and yet women are told by celebrities and the media that being obese is normal and 'healthy'. You never see them try this with men. Only women are insecure enough to fall for it."
Bontempo accompanied her tweet with a naked image of Lizzo, a body-positivity advocate and proponent of weight not being synonymous with overall health.
In her retweet of Bontempo's post last week, which has since been viewed over 1.4 million times, Owens also aired anti-trans and sexist sentiments, writing: "Only women could be emotionally manipulated into supporting their own eradication via support for 'trans men'. Only women could be fooled into supporting a death cult of 'fat acceptance'.
"Today's cultural battles prove that women are more irrational and emotional than men."
She continued: "If you peep comments on any of Lizzo's 'fat acceptance' photos, you will undoubtedly find a score of batshit insane women telling her that she looks beautiful.
"Men do not lie to other men in this way. They do not pretend that clinical obesity is beauty."
In another tweet, accompanied by a photo of Lizzo wearing a revealing cut-out ensemble at a Lakers game, Owens argued that being "naked in public" warrants public commentary.
"LOL to everyone telling me that Lizzo is allowed to be naked in public but the public is not allowed to comment on her body. Gaslight someone else. You don't get to do outlandish things and then be offended when people comment on your outlandishness. She wants attention."
Owens has become a polarising and controversial figure in recent years, including for her criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement, despite being a Black woman, and expression of anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination views during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her Twitter biography currently reads: "New York Times best-selling author. Founder of @BLEXIT organization. Black people don’t have to be Democrats - still."
In 2020, Owens made headlines when she branded Harry Styles' history-making appearance as the first solo man on the cover of Vogue an "an outright attack," claiming that society needed to "bring back manly men".
Owen's most recent comments have been met with backlash, particularly from Lizzo's loyal fanbase. Many argued that Owens had missed the point, arguing that body positivity is about promoting "acceptance and love" regardless of your size and pushing back against fatphobic narratives.
It appears that Lizzo herself also saw Owen's tweets, as she shared a video with her 13.4 million Instagram followers on Monday that seemingly hit back at the author's body-shaming rhetoric.
"I just finished showering and doing my little routine. You know what I realised? I am f**king gorgeous," the 'Good as Hell' hitmaker said in the footage.
"I am the beauty standard. Catch up, b***h," she added, captioning the clip: "I'm sorry that my perfect face & rockin body offends you… I can't help that I'm God's favorite [sic]."
Owens has not responded to Lizzo's video at the time of publishing, but thousands of fans have taken to the comments to applaud the singer for her positivity.
Earlier this month, Owens also made headlines when she claimed that 19-year-old dancer and internet personality JoJo Siwa had pretended to be part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
"I don't believe JoJo Siwa is a lesbian, by the way. I want to state that very clearly. I do believe that she's desperate for attention… It's very clear to me she did that video for attention. She got attention because it's a great way to find a community of victims," Owens said in a video shared to Twitter, to which Siwa responded: "I haven't watched the video yet... But if it has anything to do with your caption, respectfully back the f**k off."
