Megan Thee Stallion is opening up about the emotional toll of living much of her life in the public eye.
The Houston rapper joined former First Lady Michelle Obama and her brother Craig Robinson on Wednesday (August 12) for an episode of their IMO podcast, where she got candid about fame, grief, social media and learning to give herself permission to feel.
"Being me is, it's a rollercoaster," Megan said. "Like some days I feel like, 'yes, hell yeah. We on top.' But then some days, I feel like, 'oh my gosh, I need to go get under my bed.'"
Megan said she's grown tired of constantly being talked about but has also learned to step back and recognize the good in her life, including shifting her prayers toward gratitude rather than always asking for something more.
The rapper also reflected on losing her mother, Holly Thomas, in 2019 and having to continue performing while privately figuring out how to grieve.
"When my mom passed away, I immediately still had to be Megan Thee Stallion," she said. "And so I'm literally trying to figure out how to grieve, how to perform, how to go through everything I'm going through and still do it in front of everybody."
Megan said she's since learned that healing requires allowing herself to actually experience difficult emotions instead of pushing them aside.
That process has also meant creating stronger boundaries. Megan said she's limited the social media apps she keeps on her phone and recalled a period when she rarely wanted to leave her home or be seen in public.
"I was not in a good space," she said. "I didn't want to do anything…be seen…to talk to nobody until I had to turn into Megan Thee Stallion."
Now, Megan said she's slowly returning to the everyday things she once avoided.
"I'm doing more Megan things," she said. "I feel better. I feel a little less heavy."
Obama praised Megan for showing other women, particularly young Black women, that strength doesn't have to mean appearing unaffected by everything life throws at them.
"You are giving more young women, young Black women, all kinds of people the permission to not have to be strong all the time," Obama told her.
Megan agreed, saying she's learned that strength can take many forms.
"I feel like strong shows up in so many different ways," she said. "It's not about being tough or just stoic."
For Megan, strength can also mean setting boundaries, acknowledging when something doesn't feel right and allowing yourself to feel whatever comes next.
"Saying yes to everything doesn't make you strong," she said.
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