advertisement
Music News

Lizzo Throws Shade at Trump’s Tariffs With ‘Tariffied’ Shirt on ‘SNL’: Watch

The rapper-singer performed songs from her upcoming fifth album during the April 12 episode.

Lizzo performs as musical guest during "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday, April 12, 2025.

Lizzo performs as musical guest during "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday, April 12, 2025.

Courtesy Photo

Lizzo has a message for President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

During her April 12 appearance as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, the 36-year-old rapper-singer wore a black T-shirt with the word “TARIFFIED” in bold red letters — a clear jab of Trump’s newly announced 145% tariff on Chinese imports.


Appearing on the Jon Hamm-hosted episode, Lizzo used the platform to promote her upcoming fifth album, Love in Real Life, which currently has no official release date. This marked her fourth appearance on the iconic sketch comedy show (she also hosted once in 2022).

For her opening performance, Lizzo took the stage with a trio of backup singers and an electric guitar to perform a medley of “Love in Real Life” and “Still Bad.” After a brief shredding session, she ditched the guitar and was joined by a crew of dancers, all dressed in black, to finish off the high-energy performance — all while rocking her politically charged “TARIFFIED” shirt.

advertisement

Later in the show, Lizzo delivered a show-stopping performance of “Don’t Make Me Love You,” a likely track from Love in Real Life. Channeling an ’80s vibe, she stunned the audience in a shimmery gold dress, with her hair blown by wind machines as she belted out the powerful song.

Lizzo confirmed last month that Love in Real Life is officially complete. “ALBUM IS DONE YALL!” she shared on Instagram, posting a photo of herself in the studio with a playful caption: “ASTROLOGY EXPERTS Do my mercury got micro braids? Cus I got an emergency root canal, announced SNL & finished my album all in one day today.”

So far, Lizzo has released two tracks from the upcoming album: “Still Bad” and the title track. Aside from “Pink” for Greta Gerwig’s 2023 Barbie soundtrack, the first singles from the project mark the Yitty founder’s first proper releases since 2022’s Special, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single “About Damn Time.”

advertisement

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.

advertisement
Wolf Parade
Courtesy Photo

Wolf Parade

FYI

Music Biz Headlines: Wolf Parade Streams Explode from 'Heated Rivalry,' Justin Bieber Gets Reflective

Also this week: An AI error defames Ashley MacIsaac, Spotify's library is scraped by an online activist group, Drake gets love on Obama's year-end list, France recognizes the cultural heritage of electronic music and more.

As the music industry wakes up from its holidays daze, a number of headlines are emerging. Riverfest Elora calls for action to protect live music, Crave's Heated Rivalry is one of the year's biggest Canadian media success stories, Celine Dion returns to holiday music — those are just a few of the stories that are emerging as we head into 2026.

Read these stories and more in this week's roundup of music biz headlines of the week from Canada and beyond.

keep readingShow less
advertisement