Lizzo addresses sexual assault lawsuit, says she was 'blindsided' and did 'nothing wrong'

Lizzo is telling her truth.

The "Truth Hurts" rapper and singer is resurfacing after a sexual assault lawsuit filed by former dancers last year derailed her career. On Thursday's episode of "Baby, This is Keke Palmer," Lizzo opened up about the ordeal during an interview with podcast host Keke Palmer.

"I was literally living in my dream, and then the tour ended, and three ex-dancers just completely, like, blindsided me with a lawsuit," Lizzo told the Hollywood multi-hyphenate, adding that she was "completely surprised" by the claims.

A suit filed in August 2023 aimed at Lizzo, whose legal name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, claimed that she sexually pressured and weight shamed her former dancers, according to a lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY at the time. The suit also named the four-time Grammy winner's management team as co-defendants.

Lizzo lawsuit: Singer sued by dancers for 'demoralizing' weight shaming, sexual harassment

'I liked them': Lizzo says she was 'deeply hurt' by sexual assault allegations

In the suit, plaintiffs Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis and Noelle Rodriguez claimed they were victims of sexual, racial and religious harassment, assault, false imprisonment and disability discrimination, in addition to other allegations.

She continued: "I was very deeply hurt 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." During the interview, Lizzo noted that Palmer could ask her "anything about it" because she says she has been dismissed from the case.

Her name has been dismissed from a separate lawsuit leveled against her last year by ex-stylist Asha Daniels, which she didn't discuss directly in the podcast, but her company is still named in the suit.

Lizzo dropped as defendant in harassment lawsuit, company still on the hook: Reports

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that Lizzo and her tour manager could not be held personally responsible for allegations made by Daniels who made a series of claims against the singer, according to reports from Rolling Stone and the BBC. The claims ranged from sexual harassment to being subjected to "racist and fatphobic" comments.

However, Lizzo is still a defendant in the harassment lawsuit filed by her dancers, which is in the appeals process. Los Angeles attorney Ron Zambrano, who represents the dancers, pushed back on Lizzo's podcast claims in a statement to USA TODAY on Thursday.

"There is an utter lack of awareness by Lizzo failing to see how these young women on her team who are just starting their careers would feel pressured to accept an invitation from their global celebrity boss who rarely hangs out with them. There is a power dynamic in the boss-employee context that Lizzo utterly fails to appreciate," Zambrano said in the statement.

He continued: "We stand by the claims in the lawsuit and are prepared to prove everything in court with Lizzo on the stand under oath before a jury of her peers, not spouting nonsense and lies rationalizing a failure to take accountability on a podcast."

At the time, the allegations aimed at Lizzo went viral on social media and led to a flood of fan backlash.

"These were people that — I liked them and appreciated them as dancers, respected them as dancers, so I was like, 'What?' But then I heard all the other things like sexual harassment, and I was like, they're trying, well, I don't know what they're trying to do, but these are the types of things that the media can turn into something that it's not," Lizzo added.

Lizzo calls claims levied at her 'silly,' discusses boss-employee relationships

The "Good as Hell" hitmaker, who called the claims "silly," responded to questions about blurred lines between bosses and employees.

"That boss-employee dynamic in the music industry isn't as intense as it is in the corporate world," Lizzo said, later telling Palmer that she hears about artists that "don't even talk to their dancers, who don't mingle with them at all."

"I used to be like, why is it like that? It don't got to be like that. We can all be family and hang out and have a good time but now, I see why," Lizzo said. "And I think this experience taught me how to set those kind of boundaries, not just to protect them but to protect myself."

"Let's be clear, I did nothing wrong," Lizzo added.

Contributing: Anna Kaufman, Brendan Morrow, Morgan Hines, Naledi Ushe

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lizzo addresses allegations in dancers lawsuit on Keke Palmer podcast