Lizzo is slamming the use of her hit song at President Donald Trump’s military parade event.
During the military parade in Washington, D.C., on Saturday (June 14), held on Trump’s birthday and billed as a tribute to the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, a cover of Lizzo’s 2022 hit “About Damn Time” was performed at a concert stage in front of the Washington Monument to a seemingly sparse crowd.
@lizzo #stitch with @COURIER ♬ original sound – lizzo
https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js
The Grammy-winning singer reacted on TikTok by stitching a clip of the performance with a video of herself looking disgusted before miming a delete gesture.
“Cease & desist,” she captioned the video.
The parade featured tanks, military bands, parachute teams, helicopters, drones, robot dogs, and promotional banners for corporate sponsors, according to Rolling Stone.
Despite the event’s cost, reportedly up to $45 million, the turnout appeared to be underwhelming.
At the same time, tens of thousands of Americans joined “No Kings” protests in cities across the country to oppose what they saw as an authoritarian display.
Lizzo also shared an Instagram video condemning threats made against law enforcement against protesters, calling it a “constitutional crisis.”
View this post on Instagram
“I just watched a video of law enforcement threatening to kill anyone who exercises their First Amendment right to protest,” said the singer in the video linked above. “And I’ve never seen something more unconstitutional in my life.”
She continued, “It’s actually appalling. I want to remind y’all that the first casualties of the American Revolution were protesters throwing snowballs at the British soldiers who were patrolling the colonies.”
Lizzo referenced Crispus Attucks, the Black and Indigenous man widely regarded as the first casualty of the American Revolution.
“It is the literal reason why we have our First Amendment right to assemble. And now, here we are in a constitutional crisis. We don’t serve a king. We don’t serve a dictator,” she added. “We fought and lived and died for the right to vote. For people who will protect and serve us, the people, we the people. And when that gets threatened, and when that gets challenged, we just have to get louder. We just have to get prouder. It’s the American thing to do.”
The Special singer’s comments followed remarks from the Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey at a news conference on Thursday (June 12), where he warned that if protests in Florida turned violent, “We will kill you, graveyard dead,” per USA Today.
Ivey also stated that if protesters harmed deputies, “You’re going to the hospital and jail, and most likely get bitten by one of our big, beautiful dogs that we have here.”
The threats were criticized by civil rights groups, including the ACLU of Florida, which called Ivey’s comments “extremely un-American.”
Ivey’s remarks followed a week of tense protests in Los Angeles against ICE raids and came as Florida officials braced for nationwide “No Kings Day” demonstrations on Saturday.
Lizzo urged viewers to “remember their constitutional rights” and look out for one another “because the people that we put in position to protect us are not doing that.”
(Complex)
