[2] About the song's thematic content, Lizzo stated, "I think life had thrown some major traumas and hard experiences at us, especially globally these last few years.

"[3] Billboard's Rania Aniftos said "About Damn Time" has a "feel-good" chorus,[4] and Rachel Brodsky of Stereogum described the song as "a funk-pop cut with tons of instant-classic Lizzo-isms".

[5] Similarly, Alex Gallagher of NME called the song "a funk-tinged, classically Lizzo cut that comes replete with a groove-heavy bassline, an instantly memorable flute melody and lyrical gems".

[9] For the week dated April 30, 2022, "About Damn Time" debuted at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 7,000 digital downloads and 6.5 million U.S.

[14] During the months following the song's release, Lizzo promoted "About Damn Time" heavily through TikTok, including a video celebrating the appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States.

TikTok personality Jaeden Gomez choreographed an easily replicable dance for the song that became a viral phenomenon on the platform, which included celebrities, influencers, and musicians like Meredith Brooks, Sofia Carson, Jenna Dewan, Joe Jonas, Colleen Ballinger, Blake Shelton and many others; Lizzo spotlighted Gomez's choreography in multiple performance and tutorial videos.

"About Damn Time" was used in the pre-game montage for the October 15, 2022 broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada on Canadian sports channel Sportsnet celebrating its 70th season on television.

The montage began with host Ron MacLean summarizing events that occurred when the program went on the air in 1952 before cutting into the song beginning.