LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Pop superstar and flutist Lizzo has hit back against the allegations made by three former members of her dance team – who have accused the artist and her touring company of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.
In a social media post, Lizzo said these “false allegations are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to be addressed.”
Below is part of Lizzo’s statement on Instagram:
Social media users have taken to the comments section to express their opinions. While many of those agree with her former dancers, some have also come out in support of her.
tanzyb – “I BELIEVE them!!!! I never liked you!!! You always doin too much in such a distasteful way your music is trash, an u definitely don’t represent us Michigan girls hopefully, u learn from this cause karma is a 🤬😌”
shmoolie1234 – “Nah, I don’t buy this. All of her videos and posts come off as someone incredibly egotistical. There’s high self-confidence, and then there’s an unhealthy amount of ego and worship my type of attitude.”
tabithairenlesha – “Bullied People Become Bullies. You Did Allat And I Believe The Allegations. You Have A Huge A Ego, And It’s About Time Karma Gave You A Visit.”
American actress, singer and Broadway darling Kristin Chenoweth and comedian Dave Chapelle have both come out in support of the singer posting in her comments:
Chenoweth – “This will be a blip soon enough. Keep your head held high girl. You know who you are. Others like to take the opportunity to get what they can. Ignore. Delete. It will be over soon.”
Chapelle – “This too SHALL PASS – Be strong. Don’t lose any sleep. God is Protecting You – no person or people can stop LOVE FOR – GOD IS LOVE.”
domagrant – “I don’t think the issue here is whether survivors are believed or not, the issue is that the public tends to believe that they have the right to become the judge, jury and execution. I’m reading comments where people are playing investigator on both sides and than stating who they believe. How about we respect “innocent until proven guilty” and stop demonizing an artist who has been a trailblazer for positivity, self-love and light until everyone goes through the formal case?”
Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez filed a lawsuit with the courts in California earlier this week targeting Lizzo (Melissa Jefferson) and her dance team captain Shirlene Quigley, as well as the Big Grrrl Big Touring company.
You can read Lizzo’s statement in full below.
“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. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations, but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed.
“These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.
“As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. 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. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions, but it’s never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren’t valued as an important part of the team.
“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. 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.
“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 criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.
“I’m hurt, but I will not let the good work I’ve done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support to lift me up during this difficult time.”
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Original Story Below – Published August 2, 2023
LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Lizzo is facing a lawsuit from three former tour dancers claiming they were subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. At the same time, they were members of the Grammy-winning artist’s dance team.
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday and reported on by CNN.com through an attorney for the plaintiffs, named Lizzo (real name Melissa Jefferson), her dance team captain, Shirlene Quigley and her production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. (BGBT) as co-defendants.
The former dancers, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, accuse Lizzo and BGBT of many wrongdoings, including racial and religious discrimination.
According to CNN, the lawsuit claims that Lizzo pushed the dancers to attend a sex show in Amsterdam’s famed Red Light District and then pressured them to “take turns touching the nude performers.”
“Lizzo 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,” the lawsuit claims. “Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club.”
After Lizzo herself led a chant “goading” Davis to touch the performer, the lawsuit says, Davis eventually “acquiesced in an attempt to bring an end to the chants.”
Billboard.com reports the lawsuit also claims that Quigley forced her religious beliefs on the plaintiffs and took repeated actions that made them uncomfortable, including commenting about their sexual virginity and simulating oral sex on a banana in front of them.
Notably, the lawsuit claims that Lizzo “called attention” to a dancer’s weight gain after a performance at South by Southwest. In a statement to Billboard, the dancers’ attorney Ron Zambrano called particular attention to those allegations about weight gain: “The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing.”
CNN reports some other key allegations included in the filed complaint have racial and religious discrimination, including an allegation from BGBT’s majority White management team discriminated against the Black dancer by scolding them for “being lazy, unprofessional, and having bad attitudes.” In contrast, “none of these same allegations were leveled against dancers who are not black.”
Lizzo is known for being body positive in her work, social media and award acceptance speeches.
CelebrityAccess has reached out to representatives for Lizzo for comment.
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