Beyoncé has been defended by her mother Tina Knowles after fans claimed she removed Lizzo’s name from a song during her Renaissance tour.
On Tuesday (1 August), news emerged that three of Lizzo’s dancers have filed a lawsuit against the “About Damn Time” singer, accusing the 35-year-old of sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment.
The same night that the allegations were made public, Beyoncé, 41, was performing in Boston, Massachusetts.
During the set for her Renaissance world tour, the singer regularly performs “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)”, in which she lists off a number of Black female artists, including Lizzo, Lauryn Hill, Betty Davis, and her sister Solange Knowles.
However, during this show, Beyoncé altered the lyrics and did not say Lizzo’s name. Many fans took this as a deliberate omission in response to the lawsuit filed against the “Truth Hurts” rapper.
However, Beyoncé’s fashion designer mother Tina, 69, has shut down this claim on Instagram.
Replying to a post from The Jasmine Brand, Tina – who last week filed for divorce from actor Richard Lawson after eight years of marrage – pointed out that Beyoncé also didn’t say the name of her sister Solange.
“She also didn’t say her own sister’s name, y’all should really stop,” Tina wrote.
Tina’s comment— (Instagram)
Rather than listing Davis, Solange, Erykah Badu, Lizzo and Kelly Rowland during the show, Beyoncé simply repeated “Badu” four times.
Many fans believe that the amended lyrics were not a snub to Lizzo but, in fact, a reference to Badu’s recent remarks “accusing” Beyoncé of copying her style.
In the lawsuit filed against Lizzo and obtained by The Independent, the musician – real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson – is accused of pressuring one of the plaintiffs into touching a nude performer at an Amsterdam strip club and orchestrated a humiliating 12-hour audition process for her dancers.
The suit also claims that Lizzo and her production company Big Grrrl big Touring are responsible for assault, racial and religious harassment, fat-shaming, disability discrimination, and false imprisonment.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Ron Zambro, said in a statement: “The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralising.”
Lizzo is yet to comment on the lawsuit, with her representatives not immediately responding to The Independent’s request for comment.
