Lizzo lawsuit – latest: Ex-dancers’ lawyer hits back at singer’s response to sexual harassment claims
Plaintiff Arianna Davis alleges the Grammy winner made a ‘thinly-veiled’ comment about her weight and pressured her to touch nude performers at a strip club
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Your support makes all the difference.Lizzo has said “I’m not the villain” in response to sexual harassment and fat-shaming claims in a lawsuit filed by three former troupe members.
“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,” she wrote in a statement posted on her social media channels.
Shortly after the singer broke her silence, the accusers reacted in shock to Lizzo’s “disheartening” response to their claims during their first UK TV appearance since their allegations came to light on Tuesday (1 August).
“Initially for me it just further deepened my disappointment in regards to how I was feeling and how I was treated,” Crystal Williams said on Channel 4.
According to the legal filing, Lizzo (real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson) allegedly pressured one of her dancers, Arianna Davis into touching a nude performer at an Amsterdam strip club.
It is also alleged that the Grammy winner set up a humiliating 12-hour re-audition for her dancers, and fostered a hostile work environment.
Lizzo breaks silence and says dancers’ lawsuit claims are ‘false’
From sexual harassment to assault, all the allegations against Lizzo by former dancers
Dancer suing Lizzo suggested in 2021 she felt pressured to pose nude for singer’s Big Grrrls reality show
Lizzo’s former dancers react to singer’s ‘disheartening’ denial against allegations
Lizzo’s past lyrics raise eyebrows after singer’s sued by former dancers
Lyrics from a famous Lizzo song are raising eyebrows in the wake of the lawsuit filed against the singer.
The singer is being sued by her former dancers for alleged sexual harassment and for allegedly establishing a hostile work environment, with the lawsuit claiming that Lizzo “hounded” one of the plaintiffs into touching a nude performer at an Amsterdam strip club.
Since the lawsuit was reported, lyrics from Lizzo’s Cardi B collaboration “Rumors”, released in 2021, are circulating social media.
The lyrics read: “Had to cut some hoes loose, yeah / NDA, no loose lips / Now them hoes tryna sue me / B****, I don’t give two s***s / All the rumors are true, yeah.”
Read more:
Singer’s 2021 track sounds different in the wake of allegations made against her
Lizzo, the poster girl for body positivity, whose empowering image is now under threat
The “Good as Hell” singer has crafted a globally successful brand of body positivity and self-love, backed up by a litany of empowerment anthems. But as the star faces shocking allegations in a new lawsuit, my colleague Kate Ng digs into how she got here.
Read more:
The ‘Good as Hell’ singer has crafted a globally successful brand of body positivity and self-love, backed up by a litany of empowerment anthems. But as the star faces shocking allegations in a new lawsuit, Kate Ng digs into how she got here
Accusers give first TV interview since filing lawsuit
Two of the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit have given their first interviews since the filing was announced yesterday.
Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams began dancing for Lizzo after competing on her Amazon Prime Video reality show, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, in 2021.
“If there’s anything that I can do in my power to ensure that dancers or singers or whoever decides to work with her don’t have to go through that same experience, I’m going to do that,” Williams told CBS.
Read more:
Dancer discussed alleged incident in Amsterdam nightclub
Beyoncé’s mother addresses speculation singer changed song lyrics after Lizzo lawsuit
Beyoncé‘s mother has addressed speculation the singer left out Lizzo’s name from a song during a show on her Renaissance tour after news of the lawsuit broke.
The same night that the allegations were made public, Beyoncé was performing in Boston, Massachusetts. During the show, she changed the lyrics of “Break My Heart (The Queens Remix)”, in which she lists the names of female Black artists, including Lizzo, Erykah Badu, Betty Davis, and her sister Solange Knowles.
While singing the song on Tuesday, fans noted, she didn’t do the usual shoutouts – choosing to repeat “Badu” four times instead. Some speculated the omission was connected to the accusations against Lizzo.
Shortly after, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Lawson, addressed this fan theory on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Read more:
Beyoncé didn’t say Lizzo’s name during her performance of ‘Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)’ on Tuesday
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Kahanna Montrese defends Lizzo against accusations
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Kahanna Montrese is among the first celebrities to come out in support of Lizzo following the damaging allegations brought against her.
The “Truth Hurts” singer publicly addressed the “outrageous” accusations for the first time on Thursday (3 August) on Instagram.
Responding to Lizzo’s Instagram statement, in which she called the allegations “false” and “as unbelievable as they sound”, Montrese, 30, pleaded for the popstar: “Please don’t let this define you.
“As someone who has actually worked with you and your crew,” the season 11 RuPaul alum wrote, “I can say Lizzo has created one of the most uplifting, fun, diverse, and supportive shows I’ve ever been a part of.”
The season 11 RuPaul alum added: “I will never forget how special you made us all feel working with you.”
What is alleged to have happened in Amsterdam?
One part of the lawsuit has got a lot of people talking. At an Amsterdam strip club, Lizzo allegedly “hounded” her employees to interact with nude employees.
The suit alleges that the singer “began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas.
“Lizzo then turned her attention to [plaintiff] Ms Davis and began pressuring M. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women.”
Davis eventually acquiesced after facing peer pressure from Lizzo, the suit says, causing the rest of the group to burst into laughter.
“Plaintiffs were aghast with how little regard Lizzo showed for the bodily autonomy of her employees and those around her, especially in the presence of many people whom she employed,” the suit says.
Read more:
Dancer discussed alleged incident in Amsterdam nightclub
Listen: The Independent's LA correspondent discusses Lizzo accusations on Woman's Hour
Lizzo’s defiant Instagram post just hours before lawsuit filed
Lizzo addresses fat-shaming allegations: ‘I’m hurt’
In her first statement since news that three dancers are suing Lizzo for sexual harassment and workplace misconduct, the singer has denied she fat-shamed the plaintiffs.
“There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world, I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticise or terminate an employee because of their weight,” she said.
Lizzo, the poster girl for body positivity, whose empowering image is now under threat
The ‘Good as Hell’ singer has crafted a globally successful brand of body positivity and self-love, backed up by a litany of empowerment anthems.
But as the star faces shocking allegations in a new lawsuit, Kate Ng looks at how she got here:
Lizzo was a beacon of body positivity. Now her empowering image is under threat
The ‘Good as Hell’ singer has crafted a globally successful brand of body positivity and self-love, backed up by a litany of empowerment anthems. But as the star faces shocking allegations in a new lawsuit, Kate Ng digs into how she got here