Houston singer Lizzo, who once made headlines for twerking at an NBA game, took time out this past week to clarify her stance on twerking and its significance to black culture at TED Monterey.
During her TED talk, the Houston singer gave a brief history of the dance and warned non-black dancers from appropriating the move. Accompanied by five performers, Lizzo gave quite possibly the most thorough and demonstrative lecture on twerking and why she believes the sometimes controversial dance is "good for humanity."
Lizzo's TED talk-- a short but often engaging and informative form of lecturing-- began with a dive into the history books as the Houston artist explained the origin of her (and associated acts like Megan Thee Stallion's) favorite dance. She explained that twerking derives its roots from the West African mapouka dance, then tracing its timeline through Blues singer Bessie Smith to Beyoncé's 2003 "Crazy in Love" dance.
She then issued a warning to those appropriating the dance from black culture, which she feels is an infringement on the dance's roots. Those who understand the cultural and historical significance of the dance are better equipped to keep the dance unique to black culture, Lizzo believes.
The singer has found herself in the middle of controversy before due to her passion for twerking. In 2019, Lizzo turned heads when she suffered an "intentional wardrobe malfunction" while dancing on the sidelines of a Los Angeles Lakers. While some shrugged the incident off as comical and expressive, others criticized the singer for exposing herself to children watching at him and in the audience.
While the TED talk isn't available for streaming yet, those looking for a deep dive into the dance should stay tuned for its release.