LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: Lizzo attends the 65th GRAMMY Awards on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Lizzo has released her first statement regarding the harassment lawsuit brought forth by her former employees. In the carousel-style Instagram post, the “Truth Hurts” singer denied the allegations, saying they are “as unbelievable as they sound.”
“These last few days have been gut-wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals, and respectfulness have been questioned,” she said in her statement. “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.”
She called the lawsuit “sensationalized stories” by former employees previously told about their “inappropriate and unprofessional” tour behavior.
Speaking on the weight-shaming and sexual harassment allegations, Lizzo clarified that she takes respect for women “seriously.”
“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,” Lizzo stated. 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.”
On Aug. 1, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez filed against the award-winning singer in Los Angeles. The documents painted the pop star as “demoralizing” toward her dancers.
One of the accusations, from Arianna, describes Lizzo taking a “thinly veiled” jab at her weight following a South By Southwest (SXSW) performance. Davis gave additional details on this incident in an interview with TMZ, released less than 24 hours before Lizzo’s statement.
Joined by Crystal and their attorney, Arianna described the alleged weight jab. She alleged Lizzo held a meeting and allegedly stated that “dancers get fired for gaining weight” before allegedly shooting a look at Davis.
As for the additional “demands and suggestions” by Lizzo listed in the lawsuit, Crystal and Arianna admit they were mostly indirect. However, Crystal says the feeling of their job being on the line was “always looming” and that the environment got hostile after trying to negotiate pay.
“I think for both of us, there was like this always looming feeling of thinking that if you didn’t do something or you didn’t adhere to certain suggestions or demands that your job could be in jeopardy,” Williams told TMZ. “There have been specific instances, for example, where we were in contact with our agents, and we were trying to negotiate receiving a retainer while working with the team, things kind of started being more tense in the work environment, more hostile. Right off the bat, we kind of already felt the energy was shifting. And after negotiations for retainers began we got an email before one of the shows…someone from her managerment team saying that the way we have been acting is unprofessional, and the attitudes that we’ve been exhibiting on the job was unacceptable and that it could be grounds for termination.”
Another incident described in the lawsuit involved a strip club outing, where the dancers claimed Lizzo invited cast members to touch nude performers, catch dildos and eat “bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas.”
Arianna said on TMZ that Lizzo practiced favoritism with dancers who went along with her actions and were “fun” and “down.” The rewards allegedly included more show hirings, rides on private jets, and invites to tropical vacations.
“There was no line between professionalism and personal, and so we had in our minds that if we weren’t down for anything, we would be ostracized later. It was this unspoken thing in the camp,” Arianna said.
Rodriguez, specifically, accuses her ex-employer of past intimidation and the use of a verbal slur. She is not present in the TMZ interview, but she described her experience in an ABC News interview.
Noelle says Lizzo alluded to hitting her when she described why she had resigned this past spring. She accuses the singer of waving a fist and coming toward her until Lizzo’s best friend intervened.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit also names Lizzo’s dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, in accusations of religious harassment. She has not reacted directly to the lawsuit but shared a message about God’s love on her Instagram account.
Lizzo’s production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc., is also named as a defendant. NBC News broke the initial lawsuit story.
Since the news broke, other former employees of the singer have stepped forward with supporting words and stories of their own. This includes filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison.
Sophia took to Instagram Story describing her 2019 experience with Lizzo as her documentary director. She allegedly left the job after two weeks due to “disrespect by [Lizzo]” coupled with the singer’s alleged “arrogant, self-centered, and unkind” personality.
“I was not protected and was thrown into a sh*tty situation with little support. My spirit said to run as fast as you f**king can, and I’m so grateful I trusted my gut. I felt gaslit and deeply hurt, but I’ve healed.”
Allison called the incident an “abuse of power” that “happens far too often” before offering her “love and support to the dancers.” Her narrative received support and confirmation from another person who was involved in the documentary, Charlene Sánchez. In a repost, Charlene said working with Lizzo was a “nightmare” she previously vented about to “many of [her] friends.”
“It was such a small crew, and the experience of working with Lizzo was a nightmare.”
Closing her statement, Lizzo revealed she feels “hurt” by the situation.
“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,” Lizzo stated.
Meanwhile, amid bombshell interviews with TMZ and NBC, a video has surfaced of one of the plaintiffs praising Lizzo in a video.
According to TMZ, who obtained the clip, Arianna filmed the clip after the incidents described in the lawsuit. Dated in April 2023, Davis called working with the singer “amazing” and “a beautiful journey.” The following month she was reportedly terminated from her position as a dancer.
Her video served as an audition tape for season two of Lizzo’s reality show. In response, Lizzo’s lawyer Marty Singer told TMZ Arianna’s comments don’t reflect her lawsuit allegations.
“These do not sound like the words of someone who was harassed or discriminated against by someone they described as THE QUEEN.”
