Lizzo continues to dismiss her body-shaming critics, boldly telling them to “stay triggered” as she flaunts her “sexy, fat, and fabulous” body on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. The 38-year-old singer was featured in the July 2026 special digital cover. The photoshoot spanned across two days between a Spanish-style South Florida mansion and a Residence Yacht Club charter on the bay.
Accompanying her digital feature for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Lizzo spoke with Paper Magazine editorial director Mickey Boardman for her cover story. Before shutting down her body-shaming critics, Lizzo revealed she manifested being on the cover of SI. She said years ago, she spoke the opportunity into existence while designing her swimwear line for Yitty — her shape- and size-inclusive clothing brand launched in 2022. Lizzo said:
“I was genuinely excited. I was like, ‘Wow, I kind of manifested this,’ because I have Yitty Swim, which I love. Every time I do Yitty Swim, I always feel like it’s Sports Illustrated-level. It’s only a matter of time when these worlds collide. I was super excited to do the runway show, and then they were like, ‘You’re on the cover, b*tch,’ I was like, ‘Hell yeah, bring it on!’ I love it. I love it.”
She later added:
“I do think I manifest very, very well. But I think everyone can. I just think that my proclivity to believe what I dream is very high. Like, I can dream things but not really believe it. But when I believe what I dream, it comes true.”
Lizzo continued to share how she always wanted to see somebody with her body type on the cover. She recalled:
“When I was younger, I saw [the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue] and never imagined somebody with my body type would be on the cover. It’s just incredible to see how we’ve redefined sexy, redefined confidence and redefined what a swimsuit body is since I was a kid. The whole runway show was so beautiful, with all different kinds of bodies being celebrated, like pregnant bodies. I thought it was just really, really cute and fabulous. So to be on the cover, I do feel like… wow.”
Lizzo Talks Yitty And Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover
Lizzo not only manifested a spread with SI, but her cover suit, and other looks from the spread, is her own design from Yitty. Anticipating the backlash from her SI spread, Lizzo said, “Seeing this cover of me all sexy and fat and fabulous in my Yitty Swim may trigger some people. But, you know … Stay triggered.”
Lizzo also addressed her intentional 20-pound weight gain after her recent weight loss transformation. She previously told The Guardian she deliberately put the weight back on over the past year to combat the “system of oppression” which keeps women in the spotlight under constant scrutiny. Lizzo now updates:
“I’ve gained weight since last year. I gained about 20 pounds. I wanted to get thicker. I wanted to get juicier and thicker, and I did. Now on the internet, I’ve seen people being like, ‘She’s gaining it back,’ and trying to clown me for that. Little do they know it was intentional. But I think that just shows you that people are always going to criticize your body. It doesn’t matter how much weight you lose. I was still getting fat jokes on the internet. I was simultaneously getting accused of not being body positive because I lost weight. It’s just, like, don’t try to please everybody. Just please yourself. It’s your body. You deserve to enjoy your life in it.”
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While speaking on Yitty, she explained:
“Yitty was a part of something that I was super passionate about. And when I ideated it back in 2017 [and] ’18, the market was not very saturated at all. There were maybe a few size-inclusive shapewear brands at the time, and barely that. We were developing all through the pandemic, and then we launched in 2022. I was very proud to be a part of a burgeoning clothing category, which is size-inclusive shapewear, size-inclusive swimwear and activewear. Now it’s pretty common and mainstream. I’ll look on TikTok and see brands that literally look like my brand. I wasn’t seeing that before Yitty came out. I’m proud to have been an influence on some of the other brands.”
Wrapping her interview, Lizzo said she’s soaking up this moment and enjoying life.
“Sports Illustrated Swimsuit was definitely something that we just said out loud and thought about, and then it happened, without an inkling that it would. And I feel like I’ve achieved so much professionally that, at this point, I feel very accomplished. So I don’t spend my time dreaming about things like that anymore because I’ve done so much and achieved so much. I think now, my newest fantasy is about feeling good in my body and enjoying my life. Enjoying my life in my body and in my mind. I do a lot of spiritual work. A lot of prayer. A lot of meditation. And a lot of just listening to tones and frequencies in order to just relax. I worked so hard that I destroyed my nervous system. I have such bad anxiety that now ‘’m working on reversing those things because it’s not conducive to my career. It doesn’t help. You know, to be an artist of this caliber and to have anxiety and to have fear…it’s like, Man, there’s no place for that. So… I really am just seeking joy.”
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