- Former Dancers File Lawsuit Against Lizzo Alleging Harassment and Discrimination
- Allegations of Sexual and Racial Harassment in Lawsuit Against Lizzo
- Lizzo Accused of Fat-Shaming and Pressuring Dancers in Lawsuit
Three of Lizzo’s former dancers have filed a lawsuit against her, alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.
The lawsuit alleges sexual, religious, and racial harassment, discrimination, assault, and false imprisonment.
The singer is also accused of fat-shaming and pressuring a dancer to contact the breasts of a performer.
Lizzo and other accused parties have been contacted for comment.
The singer has not yet responded publicly to the case’s allegations, which have not yet been proven in court.
Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez are suing the singer, her dance captain, and Big Grrrl Big Touring.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, alleges that between 2021 and 2023, the dancers were coerced into attending sex performances and interacting with the dancers.
Among the allegations against Lizzo – whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson – is that she “pressured Ms. Davis to touch the breasts” of a performer in an Amsterdam nightclub and that Ms. Davis, after initially resisting, eventually consented out of concern for her future on the team.
The body-positive and self-loving Lizzo and dance choreographer Tanisha Scott are accused of fat-shaming Ms. Davis on tour.
The case details Ms. Davis’s allegation that the two questioned whether she was “struggling with something because she appeared less committed to her role in the dance cast.”
“In professional dance, a dancer’s weight gain is frequently interpreted as a sign of laziness or decline as a performer. The filings claim that Lizzo and Ms. Scott’s questions about Ms. Davis’s tour commitment were partly over her weight gain.
Though never explicitly stated, the questions “gave Ms. Davis the impression that she needed to explain her weight gain and disclose intimate personal details to keep her job,” according to court documents.
The lawsuit alleges BGBT staff admonished dancers for “unacceptable and disrespectful” tour behaviour without elaborating.
The dancers claim that “only the dance cast, which consisted of full-figured women of color, was ever addressed in this manner, giving [them] the impression that these remarks were laced with racial and fat-phobic animus.”
Shirlene Quigley, the dancing team commander, allegedly forced her Christian ideals on the performers and derided premarital sex.
She is also accused of shamelessly discussing and tweeting about a former dancer’s virginity on social media.
In addition to allegations of racial discrimination, the BGBT management team is also accused of discrimination.
It is alleged that black dance troupe members were “treated differently” than other team members.
They were accused of being “lazy, unprofessional, and possessing poor attitudes.” The court case stated that these stereotypes are utilised “to disparage and discourage” black women, whereas other dancers were not.
The plaintiffs also claim Lizzo and the production team underpaid them throughout her European tour.
They claim that they were offered only 25% of their weekly compensatory compensation when they were not performing on the tour, while other performers received 50%, and that they were forbidden from working on other projects while on tour.
According to the legal action, two of the three dancers engaged in the lawsuit, Ms. Davis and Ms. Williams, met Lizzo in March 2021 while preparing to compete on Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.
Ms. Rodriguez was engaged later in May 2021 to appear in the music video for Rumours by Lizzo. In addition, she remained a member of the ballet troupe.
Ms. Davis and Ms. Williams were fired from the dance team, and Ms. Rodriguez resigned over workplace mistreatment.
Truth Hurts, About Damn Time, Juice, Good As Hell, and 2 Be Loved are some of Lizzo’s most well-known songs.
