Lizzo Plays A 200-Year-Old Crystal Flute, Accidentally Summons A Swarm Of Trolls

Popular singer and songwriter Lizzo made headlines after playing a 200-year-old crystal flute onstage, lent to her by the Library of Congress, that once belonged to the fourth President of the United States, James Madison.

Lizzo, a classically trained flautist, introduced the instrument before playing it, stating:

“This is from the early 1800s, this was a gift to James Madison from a French crystal flute designer to celebrate his second term. There was a fire… and the only two things that were saved were a portrait of George Washington and this crystal flute right here. I am the first person to ever play it, so you’re about to hear what it sounds like for the first time. Thank you to the Library of Congress for preserving our history and making history cool. History is freaking cool, you guys!”

Lizzo went on to play a haunting melody with the flute, and for her final flourish, began twerking onstage, before ending the performance and giving the flute back to its handler. Unbeknownst to her, Lizzo breathing music into that ancient flute summoned a legion of trolls, furious that she had “desecrated” the sacred instrument by daring to shake her rear.

For some reason, the simple act of twerking is a move guaranteed to boil the blood of right-wing culture warriors; it’s their kryptonite, a dance move which practically requires a trigger warning in advance, lest they burst a blood vessel in blinding rage.

Jenna Ellis, a former campaign lawyer for Donald Trump, said Lizzo’s performance was a “desecration, purposefully, of America’s history.” Matt Walsh, an right-wing influencer, described Lizzo’s performance as “a form of racial retribution, according to the woke Left.”

Strategist Greg Price tweeted: “The Library of Congress really took out a 200-year old flute that belonged to James Madison just so Lizzo could twerk with it. They degrade our history and then call you racist if you actually value it.”

James Bradley, who is currently running for US Senate in California, compared Lizzo’s performance to somebody taking “a dump on the American flag.”

Of course, Ben Shapiro also chimed in, framing Lizzo’s actions as deliberately provocative, essentially blaming her for the reactionary backlash.

The backlash inspired a counter-reaction on Twitter, as users leapt to Lizzo’s defense, questioning why an obscure historical item inspired so much rage, and cracking jokes.

Sunny Hostin, one of the hosts of The View, had an insightful take on the situation, stating:

“Then you have some people on the right who said that the Library of Congress really took out its 200-year-old flute that belonged to James Madison just so Lizzo could twerk with it [and that would] degrade our history. Well, James Madison owned 100 slaves — that’s a degradation of history. It’s a full-circle moment for American history… This is the promise of America: You have a slave’s ancestor playing the 200-year-old flute.”

Lizzo’s performance drew attention to an interesting, relatively obscure historical item; she handled it carefully, played it skillfully and had a bit of fun while doing so. The fact that twerking, a sexually suggestive dance move, can spark such a massive amount of vitriol is very revealing, and echoes the absurd backlash to the twerking scene from Marvel’s She-Hulk.

Lizzo seemed pretty pleased with her accomplishment, proclaiming after her performance:

“I just twerked and played James Madison’s crystal flute from the 1800s! We just made history tonight!”