US pop star Lizzo has hit back at body positivity activists, claiming that her 10-day smoothie diet is not a fad diet. 

The 32-year-old Grammy-winning singer posted clips to Instagram and TikTok on Monday of herself partaking in a diet cleanse that some said was at odds with the body-positive singer’s image and promoted dieting practices that could be potentially harmful.

As a part of the diet program, which Lizzo said was done in consolation with a nutritionist and based on the popular book “10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse,” Lizzo drank green smoothies, took supplements, and ate foods such as nuts and cucumbers in apple cider vinegar.

The singer has previously been praised by many for her body positivity, however, she was criticised by some on social media for appearing to promote an extreme form of dieting.

Discuss this further is freelance journalist Andrea Smith who told Newstalk Breakfast:

"I think the problem is that she was the first big black woman to grace the cover of Vogue magazine and she said that body positivity calls for the acceptance of all shapes and sizes which is wonderful because those of us who are fat need people like that out there ... showing that size shouldn't hold you back.

"So then she goes on this 10-day smoothie diet and that disappointed people because she then said that she's still trying to mend her relationship with food and she's spent her hardest days trying to love herself.

"So, it kind of undermines the message we've been sent all along because now we're thinking 'Is she secretly tortured by her size?' – so you can't actually have it all".

Responding as to whether our projection on bigger women is another form of control on women's bodies, Andrea said:

"Yeah. Well, we saw that earlier this year with Adele when she emerged thinner. She hasn't discussed her weight and I think that's the key to it. I think you should do exactly what you want to do but really you don't need to be discussing it with everybody. Because, in this case, Lizzo actually posted the results of her diet – she should have just done whatever she wanted to do."

"Everyone's entitled to change their body or do what they want with their body," she said.

"But, I suppose the thing is when you've got 9.6 million followers on Instagram, don't sell them a juicing diet to them because it just changes the opinion they have that you can be the person they aspire to be."