American rapper and singer Lizzo is under fire from three of her former dancers who have filed a lawsuit accusing her of body shaming, sexual harassment and creating a toxic work environment.
Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, is a four-time Grammy Award winner. The allegations came as a shock to her fans because Lizzo is known for her uplifting messages and advocacy for body positivity.
But in the complaint filed on 1 August at the Los Angeles Superior Court, the dancers accused Lizzo, her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. (BGBT), and a third person described as a dance captain of sexual, religious and racial harassment as well as discrimination, assault and false imprisonment.
What are the accusations against Lizzo?
According to NBC News, which received a copy of the lawsuit from the law firm of the plaintiffs, the three dancers, named in the lawsuit as Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, alleged that they were forced to attend sex shows and interact with the performers between 2021 and 2023.
One claim is that Lizzo, who achieved breakthrough success with the album, Cuz I Love You (2019), forced one of the dancers to touch a nude performer at a nightclub in Amsterdam. The lawsuit alleges that Lizzo falsely accused the dancers of drinking on the job and then subjecting them to an “excruciating” audition.
Another complaint is that Lizzo expressed “thinly veiled” concerns about the plaintiff’s “weight gain” during the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival. The lawsuit says that it forced the plaintiff to “explain her weight gain and disclose intimate personal details about her life in order to keep her job.”
The lawsuit also alleges that black members of the troupe were “treated differently” from other members of the team and were accused of being “lazy, unprofessional, and having bad attitudes.”
The dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, is accused of enforcing her religious beliefs on the dancers. The lawsuit, according to NBC News, says that she preached her Christian beliefs and “took every opportunity to proselytize to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations.” Quigley is also accused of deriding those who had premarital sex.
Lizzo’s company is accused of not paying the dancers fairly during the artist’s European tour. The dancers claimed that they were offered only 25 per cent of their weekly pay as their downtime instead of 50 per cent.
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What has happened following the accusations?
Lizzo issues statement
In a statement on 3 August, two days after the lawsuit was filed, Lizzo said that she is “not the villain” and claimed that the allegations are false.
“I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days,” Lizzo said in a long statement on social media.
“I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not,” she added.
“These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized,” her statement read. “Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed.”
Lizzo added that the former employees accusing her are the ones “who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”
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But the incident has led to certain actions and reactions, chiefly from music legend Beyoncé and director Sophia Nahli Allison.
Beyoncé omits Lizzo’s name from mentions at a live concert
Beyoncé, the most honoured music artist in Grammy history and one of the greatest icons in entertainment, dropped Lizzo’s name from the mentions after performing “Break My Soul (Queen’s Remix)” at a concert in Boston.
The song is a celebration of black women in the entertainment industry. Lizzo’s name appears alongside others like Nicki Minaj and Nina Simone in the lyrics of the song. Beyoncé has previously mentioned Lizzo’s name along with others, though.
But at the Boston concert on 1 August, which was held hours after the allegations in the lawsuit surfaced, Beyoncé appeared to have omitted Lizzo’s mention even when the screen behind her flashed the rapper’s name.
According to CNN, several videos posted on social media show the Renaissance hitmaker kept repeating the name of singer Erykah Badu, one of the other black women honoured in the song, four times instead of Lizzo’s.
Beyoncé seemingly skips over Lizzo’s name during the Queens Remix performance of ‘Break My Soul’ tonight at the Renaissance World Tour.
She instead repeats Erykah Badu’s name four times.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 2, 2023
Sophia Nahli Allison says she was ‘treated with disrespect’ by Lizzo
Sophia Nahli Allison is the director of the Academy Award-nominated short documentary A Love Song for Latasha (2019). She was set to direct a documentary on Lizzo in 2019 but left only two weeks into the project.
Hours after the dancers filed their lawsuit against Lizzo, Allison took to Instagram Stories to comment on her own experience with the Grammy-winning singer.
“I usually do not comment on anything pop culture related. But, in 2019, I traveled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary. I walked away after about two weeks,” she wrote.
“I was treated with such disrespect by her. I witnessed how arrogant and unkind she is. I was not protected and was thrown into a shitty situation with little support. My spirit said to run as fast as you f*****g can and I’m so grateful I trusted my gut. I felt gaslit and was deeply hurt but I’ve healed,” added Allison.
“Reading these reports made me realize how dangerous of a situation it was,” she wrote, adding, “This kind of abuse of power happens far too often. Much love and support to the dancers.”
Lizzo’s former creative director extends support to plaintiffs
Quinn Whitney Wilson, Lizzo’s former creative director, reacted to a post by another dancer not involved in the lawsuit expressing her support to the three dancers who have levelled accusations.
“i havent been apart of that world for around three years, for a reason. I very much applaude the dancers courage to bring this to light,” Quinn Wilson wrote on her Instagram story. “And I grieve parts of my own experience. Id appreciate space to understand my feelings.”
She shared a screenshot of a statement by dancer Courtney Hollinquest, who posted an Instagram Story saying that she faced a similar experience the three dancers allege they were subjected to.
“For clarification, I’m not apart of the lawsuit – but this was very much my experience in my time there. Big shoutout to the dancers who had the courage to bring this to light,” Hollinquest wrote on 1 August.
(Hero image: FOLLOW @YITTY/@lizzo/Twitter; Featured image: Lizzo/@lizzobeeating/Instagram)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur
