Lizzo Looks Back on Leaving College and Living in Her Car: ‘Wow, I Survived’

In a candid and vulnerable TikTok video, pop and hip-hop megastar Lizzo replied to a fan who asked her about the time she was homeless: “When you were living out of your car, what are some of the thoughts you would have to stay positive? Need hope.”

“I didn’t stay positive,” Lizzo admitted. “It was really hard.”

After taking a second to hold back tears, she continued, “There were times when I was in that position and I was like, ‘There is just really no way out.’ I didn’t know what my life was gonna be, what it was gonna amount to, and I was… More than scared, I was just — I felt broken.”

Related: Experience Lizzo’s Can’t-Miss SiriusXM Concert

Determined to end the video message on a positive note, Lizzo added, “I feel like what got me out was really the idea that this was just a part of my story. When I look back at my life and I’m in a better place, I can look back and say, ‘Wow, I survived.'”

In 2009, when Lizzo — who is now halfway to EGOT status with three GRAMMY Awards and most recently an Emmy — was initially trying to break into the music business, she dropped out of college and had to live in her car for six months. “I spent Thanksgiving in that car, and I remember I cried myself to sleep,” Lizzo told CBS This Morning in a 2020 interview.

On October 5, Lizzo will perform in her hometown of Detroit as part of SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series. Learn more about the show here.