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One of the pioneers of the plus size movement came to advocate for singer/rapper Lizzo, who has been unfairly targeted due to her size, interlacing between race and class.

Former America’s Top Model contestant Toccara Jones sought to unravel the racist and elitist criticisms which has come Lizzo’s way in the wake of the entertainer’s departure from Twitter.

Toccara Jones was one of the first Black women who made waves, due to the fact that she did not fit into the idea of European beauty standards, especially when it came to body size.

A TMZ interviewer who caught the model on the street brought it back to Michaels who was recently under fire for brining attention to Lizzo’s weight, which was cloaked in anti-Blackness, fat phobia and class.

“I think it’s crazy she’s getting all this criticism. I mean it’s 2020, 2020 vision and it’s still people feeling good about themselves?” the model said. “Like we don’t feel good ourselves, that we have to start talking about somebody else who’s feeling a good about herself?” Toccara told TMZ.

“So why we get mad at her because she’s bigger than us? I don’t know why we feeling so bad, I don’t why she’s getting all this criticism. I think it’s just insecure people, I think it’s just insecurity. You have to be insecure. If you’re not, If you are mad at somebody for loving themselves, then that means that you don’t love themselves,” she said.

Toccara had stronger words for Julian Michaels, a celebrity trainer, who criticized the singer over her weight in a recent interview with Buzzfeed.

Why are we celebrating her body?” Michaels said. “Why does it matter? That’s what I’m saying. Like why aren’t we celebrating her music? ‘Cause it isn’t gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes.”

“I’m just being honest. I love her music, my kid loves her music, but there’s never a moment when I’m like, ‘I’m so glad she’s overweight,'” she continued. “Why do I even care? Why is it my job to care about her weight?”

“I think, I think that Julian Michaels–You know, I don’t want to say that she hating, but she hating!” Toccara continued. “You know what I’m saying because, we got al these systems.  If you look at the BMI systems according to that BMI system, I’m BMI, I’m overweight, everybody, that BMI system is all messed up! So when Julian Michaels is talking about her health experts and all these different things, there are people that are skinny and that are not healthy, you know what I’m saying? Like we know this. So she steady preaching about obesity causing people having diseases and not being healthy, but the statistics show that no matter if you’re that big or if you’re small, you can still have them same health problems. They want to say that your higher risk if you’re bigger but that’s not true and it’s been proven. You know what I’m saying? We need to break some of these stereotypes is what I’m saying, or these studies.”

Whatever the case is Lizzo deserves to be happy and to be unleashed from the cycle of criticism which will never deem her worthy, due to her size. It’s important that Lizzo continue to look to her family and friends who support her regardless of what she looks like physically. Thank you Toccara for your honesty!

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