Grimes suggests society is crumbling due to cancel culture, defends Lizzo and Doja Cat
Having been canceled "many times," Grimes likes to stick up for fellow canceled artists like Lizzo and Doja Cat
A controversial meme out of nü Gossip Girl goes: “It gets worse. Jameela Jamil just defended you.” As it happens, Jameela Jamil did support Lizzo in the wake of a lawsuit alleging the singer fostered a hostile work environment. And there’s someone else who might fit that meme just as well, if not better than Jamil: “It gets worse. Grimes just defended you.”
Grimes, the musician lately infamous for dating Elon Musk, is willing to admit some bad things might’ve happened behind the scenes on Lizzo’s tour, “but I had dancers mistreated on my watch in ways I didn’t find out about until way later,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter). “But loyalty matters to me. Lizzo was kind to me and others for a decade before she was ‘cool,’ and she checked in [on] me when no one cared. I’ve only ever seen exemplary behavior from her, especially when everyone was hating on me and she was on top of the world. There was no reason for her to check in, besides to be a good person. Just my two cents.”
The post continued: “I recall when she first blew up being so happy because I’d never known such an admirable person to find fame in the music industry. I struggle to believe she would have so radically changed tired of a culture that seeks to destroy it’s greatest virtues. Lizzo is amazing.”
To those fans arguing Lizzo was only nice to her because Grimes had some power in the industry, Grimes was quick to point out that Lizzo was nice to her “before Elon,” “in like 2012 before anyone cared [about] either of us,” and even “while I was cancelled af while I was pregnant when most people abandoned me because they didn’t want the association.”
For Grimes, the backlash against Lizzo says a lot about cancel culture, democracy, and due process. In her opinion, “The cancel culture decision to assume guilt without due process. This seems aggressively destabilizing to public mental health.” Furthermore, “There is undeniably a massive crowd accusing a prominent successful important woman of abuse and atrocities without due process. My tweet refers to due process in the justice system which is an essential element of freedom,” she argued with one critic. “It is what stops us from burning accused witches for example, because said women do not resemble accepted archetypes. I urge you to engage with my concern for the call to dismantle due process, which is a direct threat to freedom. There are many historical examples of similar instances, it’s worth researching the cultural revolution for example.”
As it happens, Grimes also came to the defense of another embattled pop star, Doja Cat, following the release of the latter’s new track “Paint The Town Red.” While Grimes doesn’t “think it’s cool to lash out at fans,” she also acknowledged the “psychic perils of fame” that Doja seems to be railing against. Similar to her defense of Lizzo, she noted that “Doja has always been a friend and deeply kind person to me. She’s one of my favorite artists ever.” She added, “I hate when an artist gets cancelled and we’re all quiet cuz we don’t want guilt by association. Doja will be one of greatest artists of all time and we all know it and idc if I get in trouble for fucking adoring this. Damn.”
Grimes obviously has feelings about the specter of cancel culture, seeing as how it’s come for her “many times for things I didn’t do” (in her words). “I see a society crumbling under the weight of human imperfection because people can’t handle that we all fuck up,” she posted regarding Lizzo. “I see humans becoming pathetic shadows of themselves, fighting for a fragile acceptance by turning against their friends.”
Your mileage may vary on cancel culture as a whole—this writer tends to believe the concept is usually much ado about nothing—but Grimes made at least one point, which is that social media does love to dog pile, especially when it’s a woman or person of a marginalized identity. The rest… well, you can decide for yourself whether Grimes vouching for someone is a help or a hindrance when it comes to the court of public opinion.