SZA’s Explanation of Why She Had Crutches at the Grammys Is Very SZA

SZA regrettably did not perform at the 2022 Grammy Awards on Sunday night, but she still had us all talking when she simply stepped onto the stage to accept the Best Pop/Duo Group Performance award with Doja Cat. Well, she didn’t so much step as she did hobble. While the 32-year-old singer was unencumbered on the red carpet, she needed the help of a pair of crutches (and Lady Gaga, who made sure her spring 2006 Jean Paul Gaultier gown didn’t get caught) to make it to the podium.

Eventually, Billboard tracked her down backstage to find out what was up. Her reply had just the type of delightfully candid, devil-may-care vibe we’ve come to associate with her in the years since she broke out with CTRL in 2017. “It’s very funny because I fell out of bed right before it was time to leave and get ready for this,” she said. “Like the day before, but that’s the way it goes. Everything awesome in my life has always come with something like very random, but it just adds to the energy.”

While backstage, she also casually dropped a bombshell: Her highly anticipated sophomore album, which has been roughly six years in the making, is “very much” coming soon.

Gaga wasn’t the only one happy to lend SZA a hand. Lil Nas X also jumped into gentleman mode, appointing himself her “personal caretaker” when she swapped out the crutches for a wheelchair.