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Lizzo<\/a> is addressing the reception to her latest album, Bitch<\/a><\/em>, which made headlines this month <\/a>after failing to chart on the Billboard 200 despite her previous album,\u00a0Special<\/em>, debuting at Number Two with 69,000 equivalent album units earned in 2022.<\/p>\n Of course, public perception of the Grammy-winning artist has changed within the few years between albums. In 2023, her former backup dancers accused her of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment, and fat-shaming in a\u00a0lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0that has yet to be settled. During a recent interview with Zachary Hourihane, a.k.a. the Swiftologist, on his podcast\u00a0Proto Pop<\/em>, Lizzo opened up about fans and the music industry perceiving Bitch<\/em> as a commercial failure and how she felt as she saw the numbers on her latest project filter in.<\/p>\n When asked how she felt following the album\u2019s release, Hourihane requested a \u201creal answer, not a PR line.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to rush you. There\u2019s no rush for you to fall in love with the music, honey. I\u2019ve never been that girl. I think right now \u2014 this is the non-PR \u2014 I hurt my own feelings,\u201d Lizzo replied. \u201cI was really stressed and I was really sad for a few days. Because I was like wait a minute, this is some of my best stuff. I want people to find it. I had to come to terms with the fact that not only is the music industry different, in the last three years \u2014 and we need to talk about that and we need to talk about the radio aspect that I got my ass chewed out for, but it\u2019s happening and it\u2019s true \u2014 but also my relationship and my connection musically with the world is different.\u201d<\/p>\n The artist said that she\u2019s \u201chad to mourn that.\u201d Ultimately, she decided to \u201cshake it off and move forward.\u201d She added, \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m in this studio today because, well, what are you gonna do? You have to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n