Entertainment Music Pop Music Lizzo Seems to Respond to Comedian Aries Spears on VMAs Stage After His Fat-Shaming Comments "I'm not going to say nothing," Lizzo said on Sunday, noting that the "best revenge" was her success By Alexandra Schonfeld Alexandra Schonfeld Alexandra Schonfeld is a features writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since April 2022. Her work previously appeared in Newsweek. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 29, 2022 01:08PM EDT Lizzo, Aries Spears. Photo: Arturo Holmes/FilmMagic; Albert L. Ortega/FilmMagic Lizzo delivered a message for her haters on Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards: she's a winner. While accepting her award in the video for good category, the 34-year-old "About Damn Time" singer thanked fans for "supporting me and loving on me" before calling out her critics. "And now, for bitches that got something to say about me in the press," she said, in a callback to Nicki Minaj's nearly identical 2015 VMAs opener. "You know what? I'm not going to say nothing." "They be like, 'Lizzo why don't you clap back? Why don't you clap back?' 'Cause, bitch, I'm winning, hoe!," Lizzo said, to thunderous applause. "Big bitch is winning, ho! Best revenge is your paper, bitch!" She later posted a clip of her speech to her Twitter, account, cheekily writing, "🗣KEEP MY NAME IN YO MOUF CUS I KNOW IT TASTE GOOD BITCH 🏆" Lizzo Brings the High-Fashion Drama in Black Gown and Matching Lipstick at the 2022 VMAs Lizzo. John Shearer/Getty Images for MTV/Paramount Global Lizzo Says She's 'So Much More' Than Her Body: 'It's Not a Trend' The "Truth Hurts" singer's comments come days after comedian Aries Spears made body-shaming remarks about her in an interview with The Art of Dialogue. When asked about Lizzo's music, Spears said "I can't get past the fact that she looks like the s--- emoji," he responded. "She's got a very pretty face, but she keeps showing her body off. Like, come on, you?" For more on the 2022 VMAs, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. "I'm sorry, listen," he said, explaining that while he's not "the most in shape," he is "funny, has swagger and confidence, and is at least decent looking" enough to attract the opposite sex. "I think I'm at least handsome," he said, adding, "A woman that's built like a plate of mashed potatoes is in trouble." He then went on call out the "hypocrisy" in women who praise body confidence and "sisterhood" but won't discuss health risks like "diabetes," "heart problems," "heart disease," and "cholesterol." "Y'all will jump on me for making jokes but y'all won't f---ing be real and go, 'Sister, put the éclair down. This ain't it. It's treadmill time.' " Lizzo Learned to Love Her Body After Spending the 'Hardest Year' of Her Life 'Trying to Be Thin' From left: Lizzo and Bebe Rexha. Doug Peters/PA Images via Getty Images Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Lizzo has been open about her struggles with body image in the past, and has long been an advocate for positive body image, encouraging her followers to embrace their bodies at any size. She's also called out those who assume those with larger bodies automatically have health issues, saying "health is not just determined on what you look like on the outside." "What really bothers me are the fake doctors in the comments saying, 'Oh, you have this,' or 'You might have this condition.' No. What if I'm just fat? What if this is just my body?" she said last March. "Bodies are not all designed to be slim with a six-pack. You know what I mean?" This March, Lizzo spoke to PEOPLE for a cover story on the Women Changing the World issue about feeling proud in her own skin despite what critics have to say. "I think I have a really hot body! I'm a body icon, and I'm embracing that more and more every day," she said at the time. "It may not be one person's ideal body type just like, say, Kim Kardashian might not be someone's ideal, but she's a body icon and has created a modern-day beauty standard. And what I'm doing is stepping into my confidence and my power to create my own beauty standard. And one day that will just be the standard." Lizzo Says Critics Used Her as a 'Punchline' Because There Are 'Levels to Me They Don't Accept' As for her critics, Lizzo noted in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 that haters use her as "some sort of punchline" because "there's levels to me that they don't accept." "I've found that I'm always going to receive some sort of backlash or criticism whenever I put myself in a public space, just because of who I am and the way I choose to exist," she said. She also noted that people use "negativity as clout and attention" because it makes them "feel good." And in turn, she's tried her best not to pay them any mind. "I'm trying to distance myself from even looking at those people and reading those comments, she said, admitting, "It's been very difficult because I just feel I can't escape it." Close