Lizzo has been accused in a new court filing of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Lizzo has been accused in a new court filing of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Pop singer Lizzo has been accused of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment by three of her former backup dancers.
The plaintiffs, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, claim the singer commented on their weight and subjected them to harassment, the Daily Mail has reported.
The dancers, who appeared on the Amazon Prime show, Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, have also claimed the singer, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, pressured the dancers to touch a nude performer in an Amsterdam strip club and alleged the star invited “cast members to take turns touching the nude performers” as well as partake in explicit parts of the strip show.
The women also accuse the Good As Hell singer of taking them to a nude cabaret bar in Paris without disclosing the nature of the club ultimately robbing “them of the choice not to participate” in the night.
Other allegations include the dancers completing an “excruciating” 12-hour rehearsal and one dancer soiling herself as she was allegedly so fearful that if she left the rehearsal she would lose her job. The court documents claim the dancer was then given a see-through costume with no underwear to put on underneath it.
Noelle Rodriguez, Crystal Williams and Arianna Davis are suing Lizzo. Photos / Instagram
Williams has claimed the singer publicly fired her after a false drinking on the job allegation.
Rodriguez and Davis were reportedly later called into a meeting – which Davis claims she recorded due to an alleged eye condition that leaves her disorientated – and when Lizzo found out the meeting had been recorded without any prior disclosure, she reportedly held a separate meeting where phones were confiscated.
“Lizzo became furious, hurling expletives at the group and stated that she was going to go around the room, person-by-person until someone told Lizzo who made the recording,” the court documents claim.
Lizzo performs at Auckland's Spark Arena as part of her Special tour. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Davis stated in the court filing she allegedly tried to explain to the singer and dance captain Shirlene Quigley – who is also named in the filing - she had no ill intentions by recording the meeting but she was reportedly fired immediately.
After her two dance partners were fired, Rodriguez claims she expressed feelings of disrespect to Lizzo and Quigley, to no avail. When Davis quit, the dancer claims, the singer gave her two middle fingers and allegedly yelled a slur at her.
Speaking to NBC News, the three dancers’ legal representative Ron Zambrano said, “The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly.
“Privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralising.”
Also named in the papers, which were filed to the Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, is Lizzo’s touring company, Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc and her dance captain Quigley who is accused of sharing “lewd sexual fantasies” and speaking about one of the woman’s decisions to have pre-marital sex.
The list of damages includes claims of a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, religious harassment, racial harassment, disability discrimination, and failure to prevent or remedy the harassment.
Daily Mail has reported Lizzo herself is accused of disability discrimination, creating a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and failing to stop said issues.
The singer is yet to respond to the legal filing.
Where to get help:
If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
