Lizzo’s first show since sexual harassment lawsuit cancelled ‘due to severe circumstances’

Lizzo has been dealt a huge career setback amid bombshell allegations about her conduct. Photo / Getty Images

Lizzo’s first performance since the sexual harassment lawsuit against the singer emerged has now been axed.

The star was set to headline Made in America, along with SZA, on September 2 and September 3 at Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, but the festival has since been cancelled.

Organisers apologised for the last-minute cancellation in a statement on Twitter: “Due to severe circumstances outside of production control, the 2023 Made In America festival will no longer be taking place,” reports Page Six.

“This decision has been difficult and has not been made lightly nor without immense deliberation.”

Festival organisers said that the event “has a legacy of delivering exceptional experiences for music fans and concert goers, and it is our commitment to always deliver a top-tier festival experience.”

Ticketholders “will be refunded at original point of purchase” and the annual festival is set to return to Philly in 2024.

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Jay-Z’s Roc Nation has been running the festival since 2012. Since its inception, the festival has only ever been cancelled once before, due to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020.

SZA and Lizzo were set to take the stage along with performances from Latto, Coco Jones, Ice Spice, Miguel, Tems, Metro Boomin, Coi Lera, Lil Yachty, Doechii, Lola Brooke and more.

In the statement announcing the festival’s cancellation, there was no mention of the Truth Hurts singer’s ongoing legal drama.

Last week, Lizzo was 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, Daily Mail reported.

The plantiffs - Noelle Rodriguez, Crystal Williams and Arianna Davis are suing Lizzo. Photos / Instagram

The dancers, who appeared on the Amazon Prime show, Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, 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 accused Lizzo 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.

Lizzo responded to the lawsuit, saying she was “not the villain”.

“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,” Lizzo said in a statement posted on social media. “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.”