Lewis Capaldi has opened up about his attitude towards his appearance in a new interview with The Independent.
The Scottish singer-songwriter, 26, was involved in a number of candid conversations about his health and self-image in his new Netflix documentary, How I’m Feeling Now.
Viewers and fans have praised Capaldi for his honesty about his personal struggles with issues such as anxiety. The “Before You Go” vocalist has Tourettes, which can result in tics – sudden and involuntary twitches, movements, or repeated sounds, and also suffers from panic attacks.
In a new interview with The Independent, Capaldi spoke out about his image being a topic of public scrutiny and described how people “feel an affinity” with the way he looks.
“I exist as I am,” Capaldi said in the conversation, published on Saturday (15 April).
“Don’t get me wrong, I am a bit heavier than I would like to be right now. But I have no desire to be chiselled. To have a six-pack. That sounds boring and time-consuming to me,” he said.
Capaldi believes it’s important for fans to see celebrities like him and Lizzo, to show people that “you don’t have to be stick-thin or built like a f***ing brick s***house to be successful”.
“But it is weird when you walk around some of these [A-list] parties and you do think, ‘I’m a bit of an odd one out here’,” he added.
Noting how he’s faced criticism for his habit of dressing casually to events such as the Brits or the Grammys, he remarked: “It’s an enduring look! But also: who gives a f*** what I’m wearing?!” he said.
In January, Capaldi responded to a TikTok video of him twitching on stage at one of his live performances, reassuring fans who expressed concern for him.
“I’m doing this quite a lot and sort of like look a bit uncomfortable. It’s just – I’ve got Tourette’s, so I’m just twitching quite a bit here.
“It’s not an issue in the slightest, I’m absolutely fine,” he added.
Capaldi rose to fame when he released his second EP Breach in November 2018, which contained the song “Someone You Loved”, which became Lewis’s breakthrough single. It spent seven weeks at number one in the UK.
Capaldi’s second album, Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent, will be released on 19 May.
