Doja Cat is opening up about a recent realization she says may explain the body shape she had earlier in her career. In a TikTok posted this week, the singer shared that she believes she may have lipedema, a condition that causes stubborn fat buildup in the lower body.
“I just had the craziest epiphany,” she told viewers. “I’m finding out about this right now…lipedema runs in my family.”
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Signs That Point to Lipedema
Looking back at some of her older music videos, Doja said the signs may have been there long before she knew the condition had a name. “If you look at my knees, like I had big ass knees, like big fat f**king knees,” she said, joking that people once compared her legs to the SpongeBob scene where “Squidward ate all the Krabby Patties and it went straight to his thighs.”
Lipedema is a chronic condition that primarily affects women and causes disproportionate fat buildup in the legs, hips and sometimes the arms. Unlike typical weight gain, the fat can form small nodules beneath the skin and is often resistant to diet and exercise.
Hormones are believed to play a role, which is why symptoms often appear around puberty, pregnancy or menopause. Because the texture can resemble cellulite, lipedema is frequently overlooked or mistaken for normal fat distribution. Learning about the condition prompted Doja to reconsider what she had assumed for years was simply cellulite.
What Caused Her ‘Reverse BBL’
The singer also revisited liposuction procedures she’s discussed in the past. According to Doja, she had fat removed from the back of her thighs, hips and lower back. “I got lipo on my thighs… my hips and above my butt,” she explained. The result created a much sharper contrast between her waist and butt, something she says made it look like she had a Brazilian Butt Lift even though she didn’t. “My butt was so big…it looked like I had a BBL, but I didn’t have a BBL. I had a reverse BBL,” she said.
She went on to say she later had to have another procedure to remove some of that volume, which left excess skin from previously carrying more fat in the area. “I think some people have noticed in videos or performances that my butt looks kind of weird,” she said, explaining that it’s due to extra skin from when she previously carried more fat in the area. Looking at photos of lipedema online, she added that the condition progresses in stages. “You go from stage one to four or something like that,” she said, noting that she believes she may have been “at like stage one or stage two.”
When to See a Doctor
While Doja says she hasn’t received a formal diagnosis, her experience touches on something doctors hear often: when lower-body fat doesn’t behave like typical weight gain. After looking at photos of the stages of lipedema online, the singer said the images looked familiar.
For many women, lipedema isn’t something they learn about until much later. As awareness grows, more people are realizing that what they thought was stubborn cellulite or genetics may actually be a medical condition.
If lipedema is a possibility, experts recommend seeing a board-certified dermatologist, vascular specialist or physician familiar with lymphatic disorders. Diagnosis usually involves a physical exam and medical history. Doctors typically look for signs like disproportionate fat in the legs or arms, tenderness, easy bruising and fat that doesn’t respond to diet or exercise.
