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
Accusers describe Lizzo’s ‘fat-shaming’ as they break silence in first interview
Lizzo accuses dancers suing her of ‘unprofessional behaviour’ in statement
Lizzo has responded to a lawsuit accusing her of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct, including fat-shaming, that was filed by former members of her dance troupe.
In an Instagram post, she wrote: “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 criticised,” she wrote.
“Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed.”
She continued: “These sensationalised stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”
“I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans.
“With passion comes hard work and high standards,” she stated.
Full statement here:
Lizzo breaks silence on sexual harassment claims from former dancers
Former employees launched accusations of inappropriate conduct against the ‘Truth Hurts’ singer this week
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). Full story here:
Beyoncé’s mother denies singer changed lyrics in response to Lizzo lawsuit
Beyoncé didn’t say Lizzo’s name during her performance of ‘Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)’ on Tuesday
Lizzo dancers speak out in first interview since lawsuit: ‘I was terrified for my job’
Two of the dancers to have brought a lawsuit against Lizzo have given their first public interview since their allegations came to light on Tuesday (1 August).
Arianna Davis, who claims the singer “pressured” her to touch a nude performer at a strip club in Amsterdam, and Crystal Williams spoke to NBC News about their decision to take legal action against the “About Damn Time” hitmaker.
Davis also alleged Lizzo made a “thinly-veiled” comment about her weight, telling the broadcaster “it was very nuanced and very underlying” beneath “all the other issues that were going on”.
“I just had this feeling that they had a problem with the way I was gaining weight and looking different and that I wasn’t ‘the same’ as when they first cast me,” she continued.
More details here:
Lizzo dancers explain decision to file lawsuit in first interview
Dancer discussed alleged incident in Amsterdam nightclub
Filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison says she quit Lizzo documentary as singer was 'unkind and cruel’
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison has criticised “narcissistic bully” Lizzo as the singer’s reputation continues to be thrown into question.
The documentarian was set to make a film with Lizzo in 2019, but walked away after shadowing the singer for two weeks.
In support of Lizzo’s three former dancers who are suing her for alleged sexual harassment and for fostering a hostile work environment, Allison claimed the singer was so “arrogant, unkind and cruel” that she quit the project.
Read more here:
Filmmaker says she quit Lizzo documentary as singer was ‘arrogant, unkind and cruel’
’Her image and ‘message’ is a curated facade,’ documentarian Sophia Nahli Allison said
Watch: Lizzo's dance captain sends message to fans amid lawsuit allegations
Lizzo sexual harassment claims: Singer’s defiant Instagram post just hours before lawsuit filed
Lizzo’s defiant Instagram post just hours before lawsuit filed
Singer Lizzo posted a defiant message to her fans just hours before three of her former dancers filed a lawsuit against her. The 35-year-old posted two videos of herself performing her usual high-energetic routines live on stage, with crowds going wild. The clips were uploaded to her Instagram account just a few hours before the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday (1 August), accusing her of sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment. It also alleges that Lizzo pressured one of the plaintiffs into touching a nude performer at an Amsterdam strip club and orchestrated a humiliating 12-hour audition process for her dancers.
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, The Independent’s Kate Ng digs into 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
What are the allegations against Lizzo?
Three of Lizzo’s former dancers have levelled accusations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct against Lizzo, her production company, and dance captain Shirlene Quigley in a new lawsuit.
The plaintiffs include Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez, who filed the paperwork at the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday 1 August.
Claims against the singer include that she invited her employees “to take turns touching nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas” at a strip club in Amsterdam.
She is also accused of fat-shaming Davis, who was fired after Lizzo discovered her recording one of their meetings due to a health condition. “Ms Quigley and Lizzo then took turns berating Ms Davis,” the paperwork reportedly read. “After castigating Ms Davis, Lizzo fired Ms Davis on the spot.”
Quigley also allegedly “made comments deriding people who engaged in pre-marital sex, knowing that some members of the dance cast did not share her views”.
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 here:
Lizzo’s past lyrics raise eyebrows after singer is sued by former dancers
Singer’s 2021 track sounds different in the wake of allegations made against her