Lizzo is being accused of fat-shaming and sexual harassment by three of her former backup dancers after her world tour.
Lizzo - real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson - is being sued by the dancers who accuse the Grammy winner of sexual harassment after allegedly pressurising her crew to touch the breasts of a nude woman in the notorious Red Light District of Amsterdam.
The suit claims Lizzo allegedly encouraged her tour crew into “catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas.”
They also accuse the Juice singer, who routinely champions body positivity, for calling out one of her dancers Arianna Davis- for gaining weight and shaming her for not being committed to her role in front of her crew before firing her.
Plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez make numerous charges including sexual, religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault and false imprisonment.
The legal complaint seeks unspecified damages and names Lizzo, her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc., and Shirlene Quigley, captain of the performer’s dance team.
Representatives for Lizzo didn’t immediately respond to emails from AP seeking comment on the lawsuit.
One visit to a club named Bananenbar allegedly resulted in performers being encouraged to touch nude performers by Lizzo.
During the show, Lizzo led a chant pressuring Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club, the filing states.
“Finally, the chorus became overwhelming, and a mortified Ms Davis acquiesced in an attempt to bring an end to the chants,” the complaint states. “Plaintiffs were aghast with how little regard Lizzo showed for the bodily autonomy of her employees and those around her, especially in the presence of many people whom she employed.”
Lizzo is also accused of calling out Davis for her weight gain after accusing the dancer of not being committed to her role. Davis was fired in May for recording a meeting during which Lizzo had given out notes to dancers about their performances, according to the complaint.
Davis took to Instagram Stories to urge people the suit was not an excuse for people to be “fatphobic, racist or just plain mean”. She added: “No matter what happened please be kind to all parties involved.”
Lizzo also “hurled expletives” at her dancers and acted “aggressively” towards Ms Williams by “cracking her knuckles (and) balling her fists”, the complaint stated.
Quigley, who served as a judge on the singer’s reality show “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” is accused in the lawsuit of pushing her Christian beliefs onto dancers. The court filing claims Quigley referred to Davis as a “non-believer” and told co-workers that “No job and no one will stop me from talking about the Lord.”
Earlier this year, Lizzo won the Grammy for record of the year for her hit “About Damn Time.” A global tour supporting her fourth studio album, 2022’s “Special,” wrapped up last month.
