Lizzo has been hit with a lawsuit from three of her former touring dancers. The lawsuit alleges the singer committed assault, sexual harassment, and discrimination against the trio. Former dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez filed the suit with the Los Angeles Superior Court on August 1st. The dancers claim they were forced to attend and participate in sex shows while on tour, along with several other shocking complaints.
The dancers named Lizzo, real name Melissa Jefferson, Big Girl Big Touring Inc., and Shirlene Quigley, head of the dance team, as the defendants. “As the headlining act of ‘The Special Tour,’ it was clear that Lizzo was the ultimate decision-making authority and supervisor of Plaintiffs,” the lawsuit states. It goes on to detail and describe several instances of body shaming and sexual harassment the dancers experienced. They also allege that Davis, Williams, and other African-American dancers faced racial discrimination.
Davis and Williams were contestants on Prime Video’s Emmy-winning series, “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.” They both claimed they were subjected to nude photo shoots and a “psychological examination,” which triggered Davis’ anxiety and depression. Davis and Williams left the tour early this year. Williams was allegedly fired publicly in a hotel lobby. Rodriguez quit shortly after getting into an argument with management and the singer for criticizing Williams’ firing.
These allegations are extremely shocking as Lizzo is known as the “Body Positivity Queen.” For someone who promotes body positivity to have allegedly created a hostile and toxic work environment, it hurts to hear. Several others who worked with the singer have came out in support of the dancers, describing their own experiences.
Lizzo released a statement on her Instagram account Wednesday morning. She claims the allegations “too outrageous to not be addressed.”
