Update: Lizzo has spoke back to the lawsuit, calling its claims “as unbelievable as they sound.”
Three of Lizzo’s former dancers filed a lawsuit towards her on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing the Grammy-winning singer and the captain of her dance crew of making a adversarial paintings setting whilst acting concert events on her Special Tour this yr.
The lawsuit, a replica of which was once equipped to The New York Times through the plaintiffs’ regulation company, mentioned the dancers have been “exposed to an overtly sexual atmosphere that permeated their workplace,” which incorporated “outings where nudity and sexuality were a focal point,” it mentioned. The go well with was once first reported through NBC.
The defendants come with Lizzo, the usage of her complete identify Melissa Jefferson as a substitute of her level identify; her manufacturing corporate, Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc.; and Shirlene Quigley, the excursion’s dance captain. It does now not specify whether or not the singer was once mindful of the plaintiffs’ allegations connected to Ms. Quigley.
The go well with alleges that Lizzo was once concerned in a number of episodes that attorneys for the 3 dancers mentioned amounted to sexual harassment and weight shaming, amongst different allegations.
Ms. Quigley was once additionally accused of making sexually particular feedback to the dancers, and the lawsuit accuses her of enticing in spiritual harassment. Ms. Quigley “made it her mission to preach” Christianity to the dancers, the lawsuit says, and gave the impression to be fixated on one plaintiff’s virginity.
On one instance whilst at a nightclub in Amsterdam, the lawsuit says, Lizzo started inviting staff to the touch nude performers and deal with dildos and bananas used in their performances.
Out of worry of retaliation, a dancer sooner or later “acquiesced” to touching the breast of a nude feminine performer regardless of again and again expressing no passion in doing so, the go well with says.
Representatives for Lizzo and her manufacturing corporate didn’t instantly reply to requests for touch upon Tuesday.
Two of the plaintiffs, Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams, started acting with Lizzo after competing on her fact tv display on Amazon Prime, “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” in 2021. The display was once a chance to offer plus-size dancers illustration, Lizzo mentioned on the time. Ms. Davis and Ms. Williams have been fired in the spring of 2023, the lawsuit says.
Separately, a 3rd plaintiff, Noelle Rodriguez, was once employed in May 2021 to accomplish in Lizzo’s “Rumors” song video and remained on as phase of her dance crew. According to the lawsuit, Ms. Rodriguez resigned in a while after Ms. Davis and Ms. Williams have been fired.
Some of the allegations perceived to take intention at Lizzo’s popularity for championing physique positivity and inclusivity.
“The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly,” a attorney for the plaintiffs, Ron Zambrano, mentioned in a commentary on Tuesday. Privately, he mentioned, Lizzo “weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing.”
Some of Lizzo’s statements to the dancers gave Ms. Davis, who was once identified with a binge consuming dysfunction, the affect that she needed to “explain her weight gain and disclose intimate personal details about her life in order to keep her job,” the go well with says.
Since her breakout hit “Truth Hurts” ruled charts in 2019, Lizzo has popularized “feel-good music” and self-love and has celebrated range in all paperwork through churning out empowerment anthems, introducing a size-inclusive shapewear line and racking up tens of millions of perspectives on social media.
She received this yr’s Grammy for report of the yr for “About Damn Time.”
Diana Reddy, an assistant professor on the School of Law on the University of California, Berkeley, mentioned that allegations that fall outdoor legally safe classes may undermine Lizzo’s body-positive message and “could certainly encourage a settlement.”
Proving a adversarial paintings setting in the radical leisure business is tricky, she mentioned, so the plaintiffs’ attorneys may well be hoping for a agreement. “Employment discrimination plaintiffs don’t fare particularly well in court,” Ms. Reddy mentioned.