The Crystal Flute Lizzo Played Was Owned By President James Madison

Lizzo made Sasha Flute proud. The classically trained flutist has remained loyal to her trusty flute named after Beyoncé’s alter ego, Sasha Fierce, but the flute bragged to its 317,000 Instagram followers about Lizzo playing former US president James Madison’s 200-year-old crystal flute at the Library of Congress’s Great Hall earlier this week.

Carla Hayden, the first-ever Black woman (the first non-white man, really) to be sworn in as the Librarian of Congress, tweeted at Lizzo last Friday (September 23) ahead of Lizzo’s headlining Special star’s tour stop in DC, inviting her to visit the Library of Congress and its 1,800 flutes — the largest in the world. “IM COMING CARLA! AND IM PLAYIN THAT CRYSTAL FLUTE!!!!!” Lizzo responded.

Madison served as the fourth-ever President of the United States from 1809-17. According to The Guardian, the crystal flute in question was customized in 1813 for Madison by French watchmaker and mechanic Claude Laurent ahead of Madison’s second inauguration.

Lizzo kept the historical moment going on stage at DC’s Capitol One Arena, where she played a few notes on Madison’s crystal flute while twerking and fully geeking out.

“It’s crystal. It’s like playing out of a wine glass, b*tch, so be patient,” she told her adoring audience in a video posted to Instagram. “B*tch, I just twerked and played James Madison’s crystal flute from the 1800s! We just made history tonight! Thank you to the Library of Congress for preserving our history and making history freaking cool. History is freaking cool, you guys!”

Lizzo couldn’t help but double-post about it, noting that she’s “the first & only person to play this presidential crystal flute” that is “literally an heirloom.”

Lizzo’s affinity for flutes also went viral in May for playing a $55,000 flute on the Met Gala red carpet. And the recent Emmy winner has had plenty to celebrate in the months since. Special, her first album in three years, dropped in July, the same month that lead single “About Damn Time” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is her second-ever No. 1 single behind 2019’s “Truth Hurts.”

The Special tour kicked off on September 23 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, and hit Tampa before dazzling in DC. Lizzo’s next show is tonight (September 30) at Boston’s TD Garden. See her remaining tour schedule below.

09/30 — Boston @ TD Garden
10/02 — New York City @ Madison Square Garden
10/06 — Detroit @ Little Caesars Arena
10/07 — Toronto @ Scotiabank Arena
10/11 — St. Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Arena
10/14 — Kansas City, Mo. @ T-Mobile Center
10/16 — Chicago @ United Center
10/18 — Indianapolis, Ind. @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse
10/20 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
10/22 — Atlanta @ State Farm Arena
10/23 — Nashville @ Bridgestone Arena
10/25 — Austin, Texas @Moody Center
10/26 — Houston @ Toyota Center
10/28 — Dallas @ American Airlines Center
10/31 — Denver @ Ball Arena
11/02 — Salt Lake City, Utah @ Vivint Arena
11/04 — Portland, Ore. @ Moda Center
11/07 — Vancouver @ Rogers Arena
11/09 — Seattle @ Climate Pledge Arena
11/12 — San Francisco @ Chase Center
11/18 — Los Angeles @ Kia Forum