Most Powerful Women Summit 2024: From Grammys To Gap Year
Lizzo, 4x Grammy Award-winning Artist and CEO, YITTY Interviewer: Ellie Austin, Fortune
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00:00Hi everyone, hi Lizzo, we made it on, just about.
00:03We made it.
00:04Just a bit of us.
00:05By the skin of our teeth.
00:07Welcome to Most Powerful Women.
00:09Thank you so much for having me.
00:10It's great to see you.
00:13I don't get out the house much, so it's an honor to be here in front of all of you guys.
00:18I want to say thank you to Fortune for having me.
00:19It's a very big deal.
00:20I'm very emotional right now.
00:24And one of the reasons why you maybe don't get out the house much at the moment is because
00:27you're on a gap year.
00:28Can you tell us how you're spending your time?
00:31Because I'm sort of fantasizing about doing the same.
00:33Gap year.
00:34Girl, who said a gap year?
00:37You did.
00:38Nice to meet you.
00:40I'll say it like this.
00:42I launched my company, Yiddy, in 2022 at the same time as my album special.
00:47I had been on the road all the way until August 2023 working.
00:51And as soon as I stepped down home from tour, I may not be as public facing,
00:57but I went straight to Yiddy headquarters and I had just been working, working, working.
01:00So you might not see me, but I'm working.
01:02It ain't a gap year.
01:05It's a grind year.
01:08So, okay, let's talk about Yiddy.
01:09We're in a room full of businesswomen.
01:11And Mariam introduced kind of what the concept is.
01:14It's shapewear.
01:15It's a really crowded category.
01:17We've got Kim Kardashian skims.
01:18We've got Spanx.
01:19And that's only to name a couple.
01:21How does Yiddy distinguish itself from the competition?
01:24Can I just say something?
01:26How cool it is to finally be in a place where we can say it's inclusive shapewear is a crowded category because it was not.
01:34It was not.
01:37And it definitely wasn't when I was inspired to create Yiddy.
01:42You know, I've been a big girl my entire life as long as I've been able to buy clothes.
01:47I've lived in the intersection of the things that I want don't fit me and the things that fit me I don't want.
01:54And I have been through the shame and pain of wearing shapewear in middle school and wearing these garments that aren't breathable with these, like, snaps inside that can cut you.
02:06And sometimes I come home from school and I have blood on my shirt from the binders and the shapewear.
02:12And I remember this was around 2015.
02:15I was in a store and I was looking around in the shapewear section.
02:18And it was in disarray.
02:20I mean, clothes was everywhere.
02:22And it was fully stocked, but it was messy.
02:24So that means people could not find what they were looking for.
02:27There were three colors, jet black, stark white, and off pink.
02:31Nobody is that color.
02:34And you'll be lucky if you got a double XL.
02:38And I was like, somebody has to do something about this.
02:41And I was like, I guess it's got to be me.
02:43So I started taking.
02:45Oh, cool.
02:47Thanks, guys.
02:49I started taking meetings around 2016, 17.
02:53I got a lot of no's because people didn't think shapewear was a viable category.
02:57Can you believe it?
02:59And then finally Fabletics said yes.
03:01And not only yes, they gave me the opportunity to build my own company and be a CEO of my own company.
03:09Yeah.
03:11And shortly after that, Skims launched.
03:14And it was so validating, actually, to see that.
03:18Because I was like, I told you.
03:20I told you shapewear would be viable.
03:22You didn't see it as a negative thing.
03:24No.
03:25Do you and Kim Kardashian exchange notes?
03:27Oh, my God.
03:28That's hilarious.
03:29There's room.
03:34No, but there's truly.
03:37I mean, you might.
03:38No, it's funny.
03:40There's truly room for all of us.
03:42And what this means now is that young girls don't have to grow up the way that I did with no options.
03:52I want to talk a bit about the body acceptance movement that you've started.
03:56And I caveat this by saying it's uncomfortable, in a way, to ask you about your body.
04:00It's uncomfortable to ask anyone about their bodies.
04:02Because it is not the most interesting thing about you.
04:04That is clearly your talent.
04:06And you have become such an advocate and symbol for loving yourself.
04:10Recently, you've been posting online about a very steady journey you've been on to lose weight.
04:15Can you talk a bit about why that felt like the right time to embark on the journey and to talk about it publicly?
04:21Oh.
04:22Oh.
04:23Oh.
04:24Well, the interesting thing about my body, I have an amazing body.
04:29I love my body.
04:30And it has kind of been woven into my career and everything that I do.
04:37And, I mean, it's why I started Yiddy.
04:39I started Yiddy because of my body.
04:41We're very body forward.
04:43And one inevitability that we all have to face is that our bodies will change.
04:50It's, you know, and it's true.
04:54I'm so sorry.
04:55It's a beautiful thing.
04:59It's a beautiful thing.
05:00Especially that's what, you know, self-love is all about is accepting that journey.
05:04I created Yiddy knowing that my body was going to change.
05:07Whether I gained weight, which I did from when I launched Yiddy to, you know, last year.
05:13Or lose weight.
05:14Or have a pregnant belly.
05:16Or get older.
05:17Like, our bodies change.
05:19And it's a beautiful thing.
05:20And Yiddy, my company, has your back every step of the way with no shame.
05:24And that's kind of why I put myself out there.
05:27Because I want somebody to see themselves in me so they can feel less shame about their body changing.
05:32And how do you experience your body changing?
05:37And still kind of connect with the person or the woman who maybe identified with you when your body looked different?
05:44How do you walk that line?
05:46Well, for years now, I have evolved from talking about body positivity into body neutrality.
05:53Which means my body is nobody's business.
05:58Other than yours.
06:00Other than me, my doctor, my trainer, and my man.
06:05Yeah, so, you know.
06:08Observe.
06:10If you like what you see, cool.
06:11If you don't, keep scrolling.
06:16I want to change tack a little bit.
06:19You had a difficult year last year.
06:21You had some allegations against you of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.
06:27All of which you have denied.
06:28And I want to be completely clear about that.
06:30How did you feel when that news came to light?
06:34You know, I don't want to talk about things like that.
06:38This isn't the space where we're celebrating female CEOs and powerful women.
06:42This isn't really the space to talk about the negative things that happen to us.
06:47Because so much negative stuff happens to powerful women.
06:50This is not the space.
06:51It does.
06:52And I think that's one of the reasons why we have to ask the question to give the powerful woman the opportunity to answer in her own words.
06:58Rather than just let stories circulate online.
07:01Right.
07:02As I agree with you, I don't think this is the platform for that.
07:05Okay.
07:06Okay.
07:09I want to talk a bit about your philanthropy.
07:13So, every year to mark Juneteenth, you donate $50,000 awards to non-profit organizations, black-owned non-profit organizations.
07:22And when Roe versus Wade was overturned, you donated half a million dollars to Planned Parenthood.
07:30And we were talking outside about how this morning you posted about going to vote in the presidential election.
07:36How do you, in this quite charged moment for this country, how do you think about the way you want to use your platform?
07:41And I just want to say you've got 12 million followers on Instagram.
07:44And you've got 25.8 million followers on TikTok.
07:48What do you see your role as?
07:51It's evolved, I think.
07:54I used to be an internet yapper in my early days.
07:58And I would just fire off and state my opinions.
08:01And I think that when you get a bigger platform, you do have a responsibility to not just add to the conversation if it's not helpful.
08:10And because there's so much in the fray now.
08:13But I thought that today was a special moment to share that I did vote.
08:18And I voted for Kamala Harris.
08:20You know?
08:24And I think it's important to say that because, I mean, people think you walk into a room and it's just like, Kamala Harris, Trump.
08:31And you hit one and then it's over.
08:34But there's so many important issues on the ballot this year.
08:37And I just want to encourage everyone.
08:39I know everyone in this room is going to vote.
08:41But please, anyone who's going to see this video or hear this, please vote.
08:45Because I didn't just vote for the president.
08:47I voted so we could make it illegal to make prisoners have to do involuntary servitude.
08:53You know?
08:54I voted to get rid of some of the homophobic and racist rhetoric in the Constitution that doesn't allow people to get married to the person that they love.
09:03You know?
09:04I voted to raise the minimum wage.
09:06Because there's so many important issues on the ballot this year.
09:09So I think I'm always about advocating vote, vote, vote, vote, vote.
09:12Especially to young people.
09:14Because your vote actually does matter.
09:16And if it didn't, they wouldn't try to convince you it didn't.
09:20We're in an era where a lot of artists, understandably, are nervous about wading into the fray on issues.
09:28Because cancel culture.
09:30Everyone's so polarized.
09:32Has there ever been a time where you've held back from talking about an issue on your platforms to protect yourself?
09:38I mean, you talked about protecting your piece as one of the reasons for your gap year.
09:41Does that ever impact what you say and what you post on social media?
09:45Baby, I've been canceled for everything at this point.
09:48Only God can cancel me now.
09:51I think that I talk about the things that are important to me.
09:56And I talk about the things that I can bring a difference to.
09:59And I think that those are my boundaries now with the public.
10:02Do you think you would have been treated differently if you talked about cancel culture if you were a man?
10:07Ooh!
10:10The tea!
10:12Hoo-wee!
10:15It ain't chai.
10:18I don't know because I've only been a woman.
10:23But when you look at your peers in the music industry and the press they get, the treatment they get, is there a disparity?
10:29Maybe there isn't.
10:33I don't think about those things.
10:35I really don't.
10:36I'm just a fat black woman in this industry.
10:39I already got three things against me in this society.
10:42And I'm still rising.
10:44And I'm still successful.
10:50Let's talk about the music.
10:53You've teased online that you are working on a new album.
10:57When are we going to hear it, number one?
11:00No pressure.
11:03Who sent you?
11:05You asking all the questions.
11:07I'm asking the questions that people want to hear.
11:10Yeah.
11:12Well, you know, let me be an artist and give a proper rollout so you guys can enjoy the art the way I intended you to.
11:21And, yeah, I'm really, really proud of the music that I've written.
11:26I'm very, very close to it being done.
11:28And I think you guys are going to love it.
11:30You just wait and see.
11:32It's coming.
11:34What can you tell us without ruining the surprise about how it compares in terms of sound and subject matter to your previous work?
11:41I mean, I always am writing, like, autobiographically.
11:47So my albums are always like a snapshot of my life.
11:50And this album is definitely a snapshot of my life, very specifically.
11:55The sound is always evolving.
11:57The genre is always being bent because that's who I am.
12:02So it's a lot of fun.
12:04If you had to describe the snapshot of the moment you're in now, what is it?
12:08Ah, fabulous.
12:11It's fabulous.
12:14We're witnessing a really amazing moment in the global music industry right now where there's women everywhere you look.
12:20Whether it's SZA, Tyler, Taylor Swift, Chapel Roan, Charli XCX.
12:25How do you reflect on this moment and why we're here right now?
12:29Oh, baby, I reflect.
12:32Most of y'all might not know this, but I started off as a rapper.
12:36Back in the day, I had a song called Batches and Cookies, and I did a lot.
12:39Okay, we got one fan in the back, Minnesota.
12:43But back then, there weren't that many women in rap, so I had to endure this question thousands of times.
12:50It was, how do you feel about being a female rapper in a male-dominated industry?
12:55And I started to resent that question, and I would answer, I would be like, you know what?
13:00My dream is that one day there are so many women that are dominating in the industry
13:06that you can fill an entire festival slot with just women.
13:10And that dream has come true.
13:13I'm so proud of the musical landscape.
13:16It's an incredible time to be a woman and an artist and a fan.
13:19The fans are getting fed right now because there's so much great music out,
13:23and I'm so proud of my contemporaries and my sisters.
13:26And who are you listening to? Which women are you listening to right now?
13:30Oh, God. You know whose album I just listened to?
13:36I just listened to Chapel Roan's whole album when I was working out, and it's incredible.
13:42I see a lot of parallels to her.
13:45We had the same kind of rise, and it was so quick.
13:49And I watch how she handles her relationship with the public and fame and how it's ever-changing.
13:56And baby, if I had to say one thing to her, call your therapist.
13:59I wore my therapist out when I was becoming famous, baby.
14:03Her phone number in my phone was just indention with my finger.
14:07I need you!
14:09I look to her, and I respect her a lot for how she handles herself.
14:14Because she's pulled back a bit from time to time, hasn't she?
14:16And do you and other female artists, you talked about a sisterhood.
14:19Is that metaphorical, or do you ever reach out to each other and exchange advice?
14:23Oh, my God. Me and SZA every single day.
14:27Every single day?
14:28Yeah. I mean, I've known her since like 2013.
14:32So I watched her rise, and I watched her become successful.
14:35Then she watched me rise, and the entire time we were so supportive of each other.
14:38And we still have that support system.
14:40She'll be like, girl, how much you spending on your tour?
14:42How much you spending on the festival?
14:44I'll be like, girl, let me tell you how much.
14:45So you talk numbers with one another?
14:47Oh, yeah. Everything. Everything.
14:49And so I want to go back to the business for a second.
14:52When we talked a couple of days ago, you said your goal for it is that it becomes world-renowned, I think you said, or kind of a global brand.
14:59What does that look like in terms of revenue, product lines, marketing?
15:04You know what?
15:07I think that every business owner's dream is to see their business continue beyond them.
15:15And I don't want Giddy to just be a celebrity brand, as I would call it.
15:22I want it to be known for what it's actually good at, and that is incredible fabrics, incredible fit.
15:30That's for inclusive sizing.
15:33And the technological advancements that we're making in shapewear.
15:37We have anti-uni-boob technology.
15:40For real.
15:43And I'm seeing the dupes on the Internet now, okay?
15:46We did it first.
15:48Butt-lifting technology.
15:50Antimicrobial crotches.
15:52And I really want our brand.
15:55I know it sounds silly.
15:57But it's real, and we need this.
15:59We want to breathe and be lifted.
16:01And I really want our brand to be known for that.
16:08And so I think that when it comes to passing the torch a little bit and me just stepping back and being more in design and more in the background of proliferating our business and also reiterating that, like, Giddy is not a plus-size brand.
16:26Giddy is a brand created by a plus-size woman for every damn body.
16:30And so everyone can enjoy this brand.
16:33I think that's the future.
16:36I also think expanding our lines.
16:38We've already gone into swimwear.
16:40Yeah, what else you gonna do?
16:42Baby!
16:44Let me tell you, we got intimates coming up, which is really exciting.
16:47We have amazing everyday, like, cottons coming up.
16:51We just launched.
16:53Oh, we have Pet Me.
16:55Oh, my God, you guys, please check out Pet Me.
16:57Pet Me is our loungewear line that always sells out immediately.
17:01It's the softest, like, squishiest fabric.
17:04You feel like a little teddy bear, but it also snatches your waist.
17:07And we have onesies, we have shorts, we have tank tops.
17:11And we just dropped a cardigan, and you are gonna love it.
17:15So I think it's you know what I think about.
17:20Yes, Pet Me.
17:22Quite a conversation starter.
17:24Yeah, everyone's like, Yitty.com, Y-I-T-T-Y.
17:29But I think the most exciting thing about our business
17:33and what I think is the future is our member-based,
17:36we have this membership-based model
17:39where you can sign up and be a member,
17:41and you get, like, clothes at a way less rate.
17:46You get to communicate with us in real time,
17:49and we get feedback from our members,
17:51and we can make real changes in real time.
17:53So I think that's truly the future of e-com.
17:56Okay, we've got two minutes left,
17:57so I've got three quickfire questions for you.
17:59Oh, goodness.
18:00Okay.
18:01Who is the business person, preferably woman,
18:03who you most admire?
18:05Oh!
18:06Oh, my goodness.
18:08Oh!
18:09Why?
18:10One who you admire, someone you look up to.
18:12My mother.
18:13Okay.
18:14She always, her and my dad always had businesses together,
18:17so I grew up in an entrepreneurial household.
18:20Have you turned to her for advice
18:22during the launch of YETI?
18:23I have not.
18:24Okay.
18:25Ah!
18:26Okay, that's a lot.
18:27But I'm a super independent child.
18:29Proudest moment of your career to date, proudest moment?
18:34Honestly, one of my proudest moments is Juneteenth, 2023,
18:42we donated a quarter of a million dollars
18:44to black-led LGBTQ and trans organizations and businesses,
18:49and that was huge, huge for me,
18:52especially at a time where they were rolling back rights
18:57to protect trans people.
18:59That was super important to me.
19:01That was a huge moment for me.
19:02Final question.
19:03You're currently 36, I believe,
19:04unless you've had a birthday since I researched you.
19:06What would you like to achieve
19:08by the time you hit your next decade that you haven't already?
19:11Hmm, that's a great question.
19:14Man, I don't know, you guys.
19:18I feel like I never even thought I would make it this far.
19:21Like, I feel like I've really done it all,
19:23and I'm really grateful for my life.
19:25I think I just want to continue dreaming the undreamable.
19:30I'm having things happen to me that I never even dreamed of,
19:33so I just have to keep making my dreams bigger, I guess.
19:38Lizzo, thank you so much for joining us.
19:41Enjoy that gap year,
19:43although it doesn't sound like you're taking much time off.
19:45Never.
19:47Thank you, Lizzo.