Lizzo Protests Tennessee Ban By Bringing Drag Queens On Stage

Lizzo is taking a stand against the Tennessee drag ban. The "Good As Hell" singer performed in Tennessee over the weekend and she took the opportunity to stand up to the state's anti-drag bill.

The Detroit native invited a troupe of drag queens to join her onstage at the Knoxville Thompson-Boling Arena. Dressed in every color of the rainbow, some of the famous drag queens who joined her include Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Kandy Muse, Vanessa Vanjie and more.

Before bringing the queens up for a triumphant dance, Lizzo, 34, addressed the audience in a clip later shared to her Twitter account. "In light of recent and tragic events and current events, I was told by people on the internet, 'Cancel your shows in Tennessee. Don't go to Tennessee,'" Lizzo said to boos from the packed crowd. "We don't have to boo that person. Their reason was valid. But why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most? The people who need to feel this release the most?! Why would I not create a safe space in Tennessee where we can celebrate drag entertainers? And celebrate our differences. And celebrate fat, Black women!"

She continued, "What people are doing in Tennessee is giving hope. So, thank you so much for standing up for your rights, protecting each other, and holding the people accountable who should be protecting us."

In another video, Lizzo thanked the "BEAUTIFUL DRAG SUPASTARS FOR SHOWING YOUR PRIDE IN TENNESSEE." She added, "PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR DRAG ENTERTAINERS."

Aquaria, who won season 10 of RuPaul's Drag Race, thanked the singer on Twitter for welcoming her and her "sisters to uplift & support the incredible drag artists from Tennessee." Aquaria added, "We are so grateful to have a brave voice like hers to always speak up for what’s right."

Last month, Tennessee introduced Senate Bill 3, known as the Tennessee drag ban, which set to ban the public "adult cabaret performance" of drag performers in front of children in the state of Tennessee. The ban has received lots of opposition from those in the state and outside it. On March 31, the ban was halted, with a federal judge in Tennessee pressing pause on the ban just hours before it was set to take effect.

In 2022, TikTok gave us viral sensations Tariq, aka the "It’s corn!" kid, and learning choreography to dances like Lizzo's "About Damn Time." In fact, so many people loved dancing to Lizzo's song that she became the number one most-viewed artist of 2022.

According to TikTok's Year on TikTok: 2022, the singer with 26 million followers has the most total video views on the platform. "About Damn Time" was the app’s number four top-trending song, and Lizzo’s TikTok video in which she demonstrates the dance for the hit song came in at seventh place on the trending-videos ranking, according to the company.

The number one trending song in the U.S. was “Sunroof” by Nicky Youre and Dazy, with TikTok users making some 8.9 million videos featuring the track. The number one most trending U.S. video was a construction of an 8.3-foot-tall chocolate giraffe. The most popular tutorial video was a woman teaching her daughter to get her deaf dad's attention. Drew Barrymore and Lupita Nyong’o were among the top 10 U.S. “breakthrough” creators on TikTok, registering among the creators with the biggest growth on the platform for the year. "Jiggle Jiggle" was the number one trending sound on the platform, the rap created more than two decades ago by documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux. The audio gained a new life after it was remixed by DJ duo Duke & Jones and became a popular dance on TikTok.

Take a look at the TikTok artists with the most video views throughout 2022 below: