The lawyer representing the three dancers to have brought a lawsuit against Lizzo has spoken out after the singer denied their claims.
On Thursday (3 August), Lizzo issued a response to the complaints, which include allegations of sexual harassment, assault and discrimination, calling them “false”, “outrageous” and “as unbelievable as they sound”.
Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez made the complaints in a 44-page lawsuit filed Tuesday (1 August), which names the “Truth Hurts” singer, her touring company and her dance captain Shirlene Quigley as defendants.
“Given Lizzo is denying that any of this happened, let’s take it to trial,” said Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Employment Lawyers in a statement.
“More witnesses are coming forward every day corroborating the plaintiffs’ allegations, so we’re looking forward to facing Lizzo and her team in court.”
As Rahmani alluded to, Lizzo’s former creative director Quinn Wilson “echoed” the words of the accusers in an Instagram story, while the filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison described the singer as “arrogant, unkind and cruel”.
The plaintiffs have also reacted to Lizzo’s “disheartening” statement in their first UK interview with Channel 4.
Lizzo— (Getty Images)
“Initially for me, it just further deepened my disappointment in regards to how I was feeling and how I was treated,” Williams said.
She and Davis began dancing for Lizzo after competing on her Amazon Prime Video reality show, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, in 2021.
“I think the overall theme in all this is that our experiences were our experiences and our traumas were our traumas. In bringing that forward, it feels like it was disregarded completely,” Williams added. “It feels like we were made out to be putting out false allegations when that’s not the case.
“So yes, it was very disheartening to read and feel overlooked especially when she stands for what she stands for in regards to women’s empowerment – being an advocate for mental health, being an advocate for body positivity – and to just further prove that that’s not the case, because nothing was acknowledged in that statement.”
Allegations in the lawsuit claim that Lizzo (real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson) pressured 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.
It is also claimed that the Grammy-winning artist called attention to one dancer’s weight gain before firing her after she recorded a meeting because of a health condition.
