Megan Thee Stallion: “As a Darker Black Woman…People Expect Me to Take The Punches”

Megan Thee Stallion is killing it on the charts, on the stage, and in the gym.

The self-proclaimed “Hot Girl Coach” opened up to Women’s Fitness for their body issue cover story – and stunning tasteful nude photo spread – about her workout regimen, gym motivations, and how her body, mind, and spirit are linked as she comes out of a tumultuous personal season into a new beginning.

“I always feel like, ‘I got to do something better,’” Megan told the magazine. “I can’t be stuck. I can’t be stagnant.”

That inherent drive, which made Megan a Hip-Hop darling, a three-time Grammy winner, and shot her to the top of the charts, took a sharp dive after the Summer 2020 gun violence incident that not only left her injured but ridiculed online and harshly judged by some of her industry peers.

“A lot of people didn’t treat me like I was human for a long time,” the rapper said of the consistent cruelty she faced in the wake of her assault. “As a Black woman, as a darker Black woman, I also feel like people expect me to take the punches, take the beating, take the lashings, and handle it with grace. But I’m human.”

Megan has not been shy about labeling her struggles with depression and anxiety both in the media and in her music. While already struggling with grief and the pressures of the public eye, suffering an assault with a deadly weapon and being bullied by online trolls plummeted her deep into “dark times,” as she called them. While she initially masked her sorrows and carried on for the sake of her fans – the rapper details breaking down in tears before hitting the stage or making a public appearance on multiple occasions – eventually her emotions caught up to her.

“I didn’t want to get [out] from under the covers. I stayed in my room. I would not turn the lights on,” she said, tearfully. “I had blackout curtains. I didn’t want to see the sun. I knew I wasn’t myself.”

“It took me a while to acknowledge that I was depressed. But once I started talking to a therapist, I was able to be truthful with myself.”

That truth led to a breakthrough for the Hip-Hop starlet. Though fitness had already been a big part of her journey, Megan deepened her dedication to physical exercise and a healthy diet to assist in retooling her focus on self and wellbeing. On top of focusing on indoor or outdoor training sessions and pilates five times a week, she has cut back on bread, red meats and cut out sodas, juices, and cognac altogether. The results are undeniable.

“Working on myself made me get into working out because I needed to focus my energy somewhere else,” she told the magazine. “I used working out to escape and to get happy.”

Now that she’s regained her happiness, she’s ready to be open with her fans and supporters on a new level in her music. Megan says she believes she’s found the balance of being vulnerable yet still going hard in her raps.

“I was inspired to create this album about rebirth because I feel I am becoming a new person physically and mentally,” she said. “I’m getting into a better space with making music that is still true to myself but also true to my message. I am very much a flower, but my flower has thorns.”