American Rapper Lizzo Sued By Her Former Dancers
In a complaint filed on Tuesday, three of Lizzo’s former dancers claimed that the singer had harassed them sexually and fostered a toxic work environment.
Additionally, they claim that she falsely accused them of drinking at work and forced one of them to touch a naked performer in a club in Amsterdam. The accusers have been identified as Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez.
The group accused the rapper of making them go through an “excruciating” audition. Additionally, they said that Lizzo, a singer known for supporting body positivity and celebrating her figure, had brought attention to one dancer’s weight gain before berating and then dismissing that dancer after she had recorded a meeting due to a medical ailment.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and made available to NBC News by the plaintiffs’ legal team, also holds the leader of Lizzo’s dance team responsible for sharing lewd sexual fantasies, simulating oral sex, and discussing the virginity of one of the plaintiffs in public while proselytizing to other performers and mocking those who had premarital sex.
Whether Lizzo was aware of the charges against the dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, is not stated in the lawsuit, but the plaintiffs believed the singer was aware of their grievances against her, according to their attorney, Ron Zambrano.
The defendants in the lawsuit are Quigley, Lizzo, whose true name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, her production firm, and Lizzo. In addition to charges of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, the lawsuit also makes claims of racial and religious discrimination, false imprisonment, interference with future economic advantage, and other issues. Not every defendant was the target of every claim.
“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,” Zambrano said in a statement.
Lizzo is charged with bringing the dancer’s weight to light following an engagement at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival. Later, the dancer, Arianna Davis, was told by the singer and her choreographer that she seemed “less committed” to her role—a comment the lawsuit characterizes as a “thinly veiled” worry about Davis’ weight. Requests for comment from Lizzo’s representatives were not immediately fulfilled. A request for comment from Quigley was not immediately complied with.
Lizzo is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actress and musician. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas, with her family when she was ten years old.
