Staples Center is pouring cold water on a dumpster fire of a rumor about Grammy-nominated artist Lizzo.
The "Good as Hell" singer attended a Lakers game at the Los Angeles arena earlier this week, and when her song "Juice" was played during a Laker Girls performance, the camera panned her way, and she got up and danced and twerked for a few seconds -- and showed off her thong through a cutout dress.
It was a funny, viral moment capturing the sheer joy of a fast-rising artist hearing one of her hits inside a packed arena. And, as they are wont to do, a small percentage of people who couldn't handle Lizzo not giving any f---s decided to ruin it for everyone else.
We won't repeat the many negative things people on the Internet said about the Minneapolis-born artist, who has made body positivity and self-care a central tenant of her music. There's just something about a talented, powerful woman showing off her body that threatens a certain portion of the population, but unfortunately several news sites took it a step further and inaccurately reported that she had been banned from the arena for her revealing outfit.
"She is not banned from the Staples Center and is welcome here anytime," Lee Zeidman, president of Staples Center, Microsoft Theater and LA Live, tells Billboard. "It's ridiculous that these rumors get started and that people write these types of things without making any attempt to find out the truth. It's very lazy and disrespectful."
Zeidman said he was looking forward to hosting Lizzo at the LA arena for next year's Grammy ceremony and said the arena would love to host one of the singer's concerts if they were lucky enough to be selected by her for an LA show.
The singer also had a few words for the haters who came for her after the dance went viral. "Who I am and the essence of me and the things that I choose to do as a grown-ass woman can inspire you to do the same," she said on Instagram Live. "You don't have to be like me -- you need to be like you. And never, ever let somebody stop you or shame you from being yourself."
After the video went viral, the Houston Rockets reached out and invited Lizzo to attend one of their games and dance alongside their Clutch City Rockers.
--@Lizzo, we like your moves! You have an open invite to come home to Houston and dance with @OfficialCCD on the court any time! pic.twitter.com/URCrkCUJPr
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 11, 2019
Lizzo's Twitter response? "I'll be there w/ bells on my booty," she tweeted, signing off with a cowboy hat emoji.