Yahoo Lifestyle "All Of This Came Out Of Nowhere": Lizzo Publicly Responds To Sexual Harassment Lawsuits After Being Dismissed From A Case
This article includes discussions of sexual harassment allegations.
For the first time, Lizzo sat down for a public in-depth interview since being accused of sexual misconduct, providing a hostile work environment, weight-shaming, and more, and she is laying it all out.
Last August, three of her former dancers filed a lawsuit against the singer. Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams, two of the dancers suing, competed on Lizzo's show Watch Out for the Big Grrrls but were later fired, according to the suit. The third plaintiff, dancer Noelle Rodriguez, was featured in Lizzo's "Rumors" video in 2021 and was hired later that year. Noelle is said to have resigned earlier this year.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and given to NBC News by the three plaintiffs. “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,” their lawyer, Ron Zambrano, said in a statement.
The suit also alleged that an incident occurred at an Amsterdam strip club when Lizzo invited "cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas." Arianna claimed Lizzo pressured her into touching a performer's nude breasts, despite Arianna saying she declined four times.
The "About Damn Time" artist was also accused of subjecting the dancers to an "excruciating" 12-hour rehearsals where they'd be fired if Lizzo didn't like their performance.
Now, during the latest podcast episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer, Lizzo shared her side of the story and feeling completely "blindsided" by it all.
“I was very deeply hurt," Lizzo said. "Because these were three ex-dancers, so they weren’t on the tour. They didn’t, like, finish the tour out with us. But even regardless of that, these were people that I gave opportunities to. These were people that — I liked and appreciated them as dancers, respected them as dancers.”
“Let’s be clear. I did nothing wrong, so I have no regrets, but I do have, now, this learned experience that is preparing me for the boss that I am becoming,” Lizzo added after emphasizing that she would do things a little differently as a boss moving forward, instead of treating her employees like friends.
"Some of these claims...there are so many inconsistencies and just things that never happened," she continued.
Lizzo is continuing to fight the claims. She dealt with similar allegations in a lawsuit by a former wardrobe designer, Asha Daniels. However, Lizzo was dismissed from the case earlier this month.
To learn more, you can watch Lizzo's full interview below:
