South Park took aim at Ozempic and the larger theme of obesity in its most recent Paramount+ special. While much of the episode’s scorn was directed at insurance companies, designer drugs and rich moms, Lizzo also featured quite prominently. The outspoken advocate for body acceptance became the latest in a long list of celebrities to get skewered by creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but rather than run from it, she decided to embrace it.
For Lizzo, embracing it meant recording herself watching it for the first time and posting a side-by-side clip on social media. As someone who loves South Park, reaction videos and celebrities taking jokes at their expense with good humor, I was obviously all over this. You can check out the Instagram embed of Lizzo repeatedly looking shocked, as well as an analysis of why this makes her “that bitch” in the wrap-up at the end…
The episode in question is called South Park: The End Of Obesity. It follows the various characters as they all deal with the Ozempic craze. Cartman, unwilling to exercise and furious that the drug isn’t covered by insurance, decides to make some himself. Meanwhile, Randy Marsh starts hanging out with a group of moms and taking Ozempic with them, while his wife Sharon starts taking the lower cost alternative called Lizzo, which lowers your standards and makes you OK with being plus-sized.
It’s clearly not the most flattering portrayal in the entire world, especially since there’s a side-plot involving Lizzo’s music damaging people’s ears, but the central message of accepting yourself at your size has been core to the singer’s gospel since she got famous. She focused on that during her post-viewing analysis and also how surreal it is to be even thought of by the creators of South Park. All in all, it was much more positive than her pre-viewing analysis, where she admitted her “worst fear” was being “actualized.” Here’s a portion of her wrap-up quote…
I just feel like ‘Damn, I’m really that bitch.’ I’m really that bitch. I really showed the world how to love yourself and not give a fuck to the point where these men in Colorado know who the fuck I am and put it on their cartoon that’s been around for 25 years.
Over the course of its 300+ episodes, TV specials and movies, South Park has shown itself to be an equal opportunity offender. It has taken aim at a wide variety of fads, crazes and every political ideology possible. As such, it’s no surprise to see Ozempic as the latest target, as the weight loss drug has become a hot topic of conversation and a divisive issue among some.
As for Lizzo, she’s been keeping a lower profile over the last year or so after she was sued by some of her former back-up dancers who accused her of body shaming and sexual harassment. She remains a very popular figure in the body acceptance movement and her music is still very widely played, most notably her hits “Truth Hurts”, “Good As Hell” and “About Damn Time.”