Lizzo frames her transparency about abandoning veganism as responsible celebrity behavior — she wanted fans to understand her choices before they saw her shilling meat. Her team is positioning this as authentic evolution, not a hypocritical cash grab.
The internet isn't buying the 'growth' narrative. Fans are dragging her for promoting veganism for years, then pivoting to peddle ribs just in time to promote her new album dropping June 5. The timing is giving calculated more than candid.
Lizzo announced she was no longer vegan in late 2024 after three years of following the diet and promoting it to followers. She dressed as a Chili's mozzarella stick for Halloween last year — which she believes is what prompted the brand to reach out with the 'Baby Back Ribs' proposal.
Lizzo wants us to believe her vegan reversal was about honesty, but the timing of this deal — sandwiched between that October costume and a June album drop — suggests something else entirely: one opportunistic pivot deserve another.
Well, well, well. How the turntables have tableside service at Chili's. Lizzo is officially the new face of Chili's Baby Back Ribs campaign, dropping an over-the-top commercial on Wednesday (May 27) that features her singing her own rendition of the iconic jingle while surrounded by giant slabs of meat — and playing what might be the most chaotic instrument in fast food history: a rib flute.
"To be a part of this cultural event," she told Billboard during a Zoom interview, wearing a Chili's T-shirt and bright red lipstick, "Man, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm the perfect person for it." Bold words from someone who spent roughly three years as one of veganism's most visible celebrity advocates. Here's where things get interesting — or depending on how you look at it, conveniently timed.
Lizzo announced in late 2024 that she'd started eating meat again after abandoning animal products and promoting the lifestyle to her millions of followers. Now she's shilling ribs for a major chain less than two weeks before dropping her new album 'Bitch' on June 5. Coincidence?
The cynics among us might need more convincing. The singer admitted she was "so nervous" about announcing her dietary U-turn, worried she'd "hurt people's feelings or let people down." But she insisted the disclosure was necessary to avoid exactly this kind of jarring brand alignment. "It would have been super jarring for me to be a vegan in 2021, and then 2026, I'm eating a big old rib and playing a rib flute," she said.
Translation: better to control the narrative on her hypocrisy than get caught in it later. Smart PR strategy? Absolutely.
Authentic vulnerability? That's debatable. So how did a former vegan end up as the face of a meat-centric campaign?
According to Lizzo, it was that Halloween mozzarella stick costume from last year — yes, she literally dressed as an appetizer for the chain. "I think they saw that and was like, 'OK, we have to do something with her,'" she recalled with a laugh. The brand clearly agreed, and now she's joining an elite club of artists who've reimagined Chili's famous jingle alongside *NSYNC and Boyz II Men.
Lizzo studied the *NSYNC version — which turned the catchy tune into a ballad featuring shipwrecked boy band members — before crafting her own angle: "'Oh, you want your baby back? You gonna have to work hard to get that.' I wrote the verse really quickly, and it just rolled off the tongue. It took, like, an hour." For those keeping score at home: former vegan promotes plant-based diet for years → quietly abandons it → announces change in late 2024 → dresses as fast food mozzarella stick for Halloween → lands major ribs endorsement deal weeks before new album release.
The girlboss pivot is immaculate. Whether fans see this as refreshing honesty or a calculated cash grab remains to be seen — but one thing's certain: Lizzo knows exactly what she's doing.
