In an interview with Finish Line Women’s Community Voices series for Mental Health Awareness Month, the 32-year-old R&B singer reflected on how she left the 2022 Met Gala early because she felt “overwhelmed” and she also discussed how fame and artistic pressure puts an impact on her mental wellness.
The sexy pirate of my dreams, @sza coming in hot! #MetGala pic.twitter.com/781pgkFbxc
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) May 3, 2022
During the interview, SZA shared some of her thoughts on ‘social media trolls’ and expressed how it hurts to read hateful comments that reflect on her real-life insecurities. “It’s weird sometimes, when your personal thoughts and feelings align with some of the things people say about you,” she told the outlet. “It’s hard not to fall into that weird hole of self-loathing.”
SZA explains why she dealt with anxiety at the Met Gala via: @FinishLine pic.twitter.com/lOI1E3GjQQ
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She went on to describe what it was like to be a part of the 2022 Met Gala this year. Describing the experience as ‘overwhelming’. “I hated my outfit. That was another mental health thing,” she explained. “You want to do your job, you want to show up, and all these people are excited for you to be there, but it’s like, ‘Damn, I don’t feel confident,’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable,’ or it’s like, ‘Oh, if my dress doesn’t fit…,’ and then there’s all this weird comparison, and it’s really unhealthy. And it’s like, damn, some people, like Lizzo, can have a really good time regardless of what is happening.”
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.@sza performing her hit single “good days” at the #MetGala after party pic.twitter.com/sZ97IOpktt
— danny (@szasjoni) May 3, 2022
She then detailed the complex process of exiting the Met Gala without being photographed. “For me, it’s like, I snuck out the back as soon as Lenny Kravitz hit the stage because I was feeling very like, ‘Whoa, my anxiety’s going crazy,'” continued SZA. “So much so that I couldn’t walk down the main steps to exit. I took a cab. I walked like three city blocks with no shoes on…”
“I just tiptoed a couple blocks and caught a yellow cab back to my hotel because I was just overwhelmed,” she recalled. “I had too much anxiety to wait for my cab in front of the crowd, and take pictures, and all those things. I didn’t want to do that. So I was looking like a little dirty Cinderella running away with my shoes.”