Lizzo spoke out about her love for twerking in a new Ted Talk, where the artist gave a detailed history on the derriere shaking dance move.

The Grammy award winning artist, 33, said twerking helped her appreciate her backside while on stage in a ruffled black dress.

‘Through the movement of twerking, I realized that my a** is my favorite asset,’ Lizzo said, before shading Miley Cyrus for twerking at the 2013 MTV VMAs.

The Truth Hurts artist said: ‘My a** has been the topic of conversations, my a** has been in magazines, Rihanna gave my a** a standing ovation. Yes, my booty! My least favorite part of my body.’

‘How did this happen? Twerking. Through the movement of twerking, I realized that my a** is my greatest asset. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my TED Twerk.

The star went into the history of twerking and how she learned the derriere focused dance move, adding that ‘twerking made me feel empowered.’

‘It was my secret language. My sauce,’ she added.

‘Modern-day twerking derived from black people and black culture. It has a direct parallel to West African dances like Mapouka,’ Lizzo explained.

‘Black people carried the origins of this dance through our DNA, through our blood, through our bones. We made twerking the global cultural phenomenon it became today,’ she said.

Lizzo then turned her attention to Miley Cyrus, who shed her Disney image after twerking on the 2013 MTV VMAs during a performance with Robin Thicke.

‘Miley Cyrus would perform what seemed like the twerk heard around the world. Y’all remember that.’

‘In 2013, within a month of each other, I released my debut Lizzobangers and Miley Cyrus released her project, Bangerz. That same year, Miley released the single We Can’t Stop and she was twerking in the video.’

‘I remember being like, “This is crazy.” Hannah Montana twerking all over the place.’

‘A couple months later, she performed with Robin Thicke on the VMAs, and that night, seemingly overnight, twerking went mainstream.’

Lizzo continued: ‘The media described twerking as, I quote, “disturbing and disgusting.” Critics blasted twerking as something that was exploiting and over-sexualizing young women.

Once mainstream, twerking was misunderstood and taken out of context. It was bittersweet. For one, I wish that a black woman could have popularized twerking in the mainstream.’

‘But on the other end, twerking going mainstream played a role in the rise of my profile and career. Listen, everything that black people create, from fashion to music to the way we talk, is co-opted, appropriated and taken by pop culture,’ she said.

‘For this reason, optimism can be an illusion to the experience of black people in America. In this Ted Talk, I’m not trying to gatekeep but I’m definitely trying to let you know who built the d**n gate.

The fact that I can make a stake in the reclamation of black things and black culture makes me very optimistic. To be on stage at the premiere conference for the experts in their field, talking about twerking and stating my facts, makes me optimistic.’

‘The best thing I can do is be loud and take ownership, because for me, twerking is a pearl of optimism. It’s a form of self-expression, freedom, confidence. Twerking is not just something I do to music.

It’s extremely useful. It manifests in my life in ways that that I need more joy. In the mornings, twerking leads me to stretching and taking care of my body,’ as she showed off some of her twerking skills.

Lizzo said twerking is ‘not just sexual,’ explaining that it is a ‘deep, soulful, spiritual practice. It’s hip-opening. It’s empowering. When it’s performed as the Mapouka, it’s said to connect you to God. It’s sacred. And now we’re practicing that on mainstream stages. We’re practicing that at home and it’s contributing to the liberation of women and people around the world.’

Thoughts: Lizzo said twerking is ‘not just sexual,’ explaining that it is a ‘deep, soulful, spiritual practice. It’s hip-opening. It’s empowering. When it’s performed as the mapouka, it’s said to connect you to God. It’s sacred.

And now we’re practicing that on mainstream stages. We’re practicing that at home and it’s contributing to the liberation of women and people around the world’

Lizzo said she is ‘proud to be a twerk pioneer. I’m grateful for the a**es that came before me. All hail Beyonce. Nicki Minaj. From Betty Boop to Buffie the Body. When I shake this a** I do it for the culture not the vulture.

For me, twerking ain’t a trend. My body is not a trend. I twerk for the strippers, for the video vixens, for the church ladies who shout – for the sex workers.

I twerk because black women are undeniable. I twerk for my ancestors, for sexual liberation, for my b****s, hey girl! Because I can. Because I know I look good.’

‘I twerk because it’s unique to the black experience. It’s unique to my culture and it means something real to me. I twerk because I’m talented. Because I’m sexual but not to be sexualized.’

She continued: ‘I twerk to own my power, to reclaim my blackness, my culture. I twerk for fat black women because being fat and black is a beautiful thing. I twerk because it’s as natural to me as breathing. Black women invented twerking and twerking is part of the revolution.

We been doing it, we’re going to keep on doing it, because we have and always will be the blueprint. We twerk to remind ourselves we here and we ain’t going nowhere.’