Lizzo Sued by Former Dancers

Lizzo, the four-time Grammy winner, has been sued by three of her former dancers who are accusing her of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment created by her production company. The lawsuit claims that Lizzo pressured her dancers into interacting with nude entertainers in a club in Amsterdam. One of the dancers added that Lizzo shamed them for her weight gain before she was fired. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday, August 1 in Los Angelos County Superior Court.

The dancers, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, make numerous charges including sexual, religious, and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault, and false imprisonment. Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Jefferson, denied the allegations on Thursday, August 3, saying the lawsuit claims are “false,” and that “There is nothing nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world.” The singer-songwriter described the allegations as being “as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to be addressed.”

The lawsuit also claims that after performing a concert in Amsterdam, Lizzo and her crew attended a show in the Red Light District at a sexually-themed club. It states that “Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers,” and that she led a chant pressuring Arianna Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club. The dancers were appalled at how Lizzo showed no regard for the bodily autonomy of her employees.

Lizzo, who is an advocate for body positivity, has also been accused of calling out Davis for her weight gain. She allegedly later fired Davis for recording a meeting during which Lizzo had given critiques of the dancers’ performances.

The attorney representing Lizzo’s dancers said his firm is reviewing further complaints from at least six other people who claim to have worked with the singer, who denies the allegations against her.