Following a bombastic 2022, when Lizzo got halfway to EGOT status, topped charts with her single About Damn Time, and was ranked the top artist on TikTok for the whole year, the last thing anyone could have expected from the headlines this year was accusations of bullying, sexual harassment, and fat-shaming.
The news broke yesterday after three of Lizzo’s former dancers filed a lawsuit against her which included accusations of sexual, religious, and racial harassment, discrimination, assault, and false imprisonment. Lizzo has firmly denied the allegations, saying the past few days since their publication has been “overwhelmingly disappointing” and “gut-wrenchingly difficult”.
“These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional,” she said in a statement.
Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez are the former dancers bringing the case against Lizzo (real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson), her dance captain, and her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, aka BGBT.
But what exactly are they accusing Lizzo of doing, and when? Here’s the breakdown.
Lizzo allegedly forced dancers to attend strip clubs
Among the claims against Lizzo, one is that she pressured her dancers into attending sex shows between 2021 and 2023, where she also coerced them to interact with the sex workers. According to the legal filing, Lizzo “pressured Ms Davis to touch the breasts” of a performer in a nightclub in Amsterdam, and Davis eventually did so after “fearing it may harm her future on the team” if she didn’t.
Alleged fat-shaming
Lizzo is also accused of fat-shaming this same dancer after she gained weight whilst on tour, despite her troupe of dancers all being “comprised of full-figured women of colour” and Lizzo having a well-known reputation for body positivity.
Davis claims that Lizzo and her choreographer Tanisha Scott questioned whether Davis was “struggling with something as she seemed less committed to her role on the dance cast”. The case details: “In professional dance, a dancer’s weight gain is often seen as that dancer getting lazy or worse off as a performer. Lizzo's and Ms Scott's questions about Ms Davis’s commitment to the tour were thinly veiled concerns about Ms Davis’s weight gain.
“[This] gave Ms Davis the impression that she needed to explain her weight gain and disclose intimate personal details about her life in order to keep her job.”
Her dance captain is accused of pushing Christian beliefs onto dancers
This allegation is leveraged at the captain of Lizzo’s dance team, Shirlene Quigley, not Lizzo herself, but claims that Quigley pushed her Christian beliefs onto the dance troupe and shamed the dancers who had engaged in pre-marital sex. Another accusation claims that Quigley openly discussed one dancer’s virginity and even posted about it on social media.
Quigley has taken to Instagram since the allegations were revealed to speak about her love for God without directly addressing the claims. “Glory to God,” she said, speaking to the camera in an Instagram story. “I just want to remind you that he is love. He is truth, he is the light, he is the first and the last. All things work together for those that are called together according to his purpose.”
Accused of fostering a hostile work environment
Many of the allegations featured in the lawsuit contribute to the claim that Lizzo and her dance team executives created a “hostile” work environment while dancers were on their books. One accusation alleges that the production company disciplined dancers for “unacceptable and disrespectful” behaviour while on the tour, without specifying what that behaviour was.
“Only the dance cast — comprised of full-figured women of colour — were ever spoken to in this manner, giving [them] the impression that these comments were charged with racial and fat-phobic animus,” the lawsuit says.
‘Arrogant, self-centered, and unkind’
Alongside the lawsuit, a documentary maker who worked with Lizzo in 2019 has come forward since the three dancers’ allegations were made public.
“In 2019 I travelled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary,” director Sophia Nahli Allison posted on Instagram. “I walked away after 2 weeks. I was treated with such disrespect by her.
“I witnessed how arrogant, self-centered, and unkind she is,” Allison’s Instagram story continued. “I was not protected and was thrown into a shitty situation with little support. My spirit said to run as fast as you fucking can and I’m so grateful I trusted my gut.”
Sharing this because validating other Black women's experiences is deeply important to me. pic.twitter.com/gd2xEK6szq
— Sophia Nahli Allison (@SophiaNAllison) August 1, 2023
In a follow-up post, she wrote: “Lizzo creates an extremely toxic and hostile working environment and undermines the work, labour, and authority of other black and brown womxn in the process. (Notice how the documentary ended up being directed by a cis white man.)
“I was excited to support and protect a Black woman through the documentary process but quickly learned her image and ‘message’ was a curated facade. I stand with the dancers and anyone who has had similar experiences working with her and her team. These working conditions are not ok.”
to be clear… pic.twitter.com/JU2ZuDoZ9b
— Sophia Nahli Allison (@SophiaNAllison) August 2, 2023
Lizzo responds to allegations
Today, Lizzo spoke out for the first time since the release of the allegations, saying the past few days have been “gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing” for her.
“My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned,” she said in a statement posted to Instagram. “My character has been criticised.
“Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed. These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.
"As an artist, I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans.”
She added: “With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team.
"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. 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.
“There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.
"I'm hurt but I will not let the good work I've done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support to lift me up during this difficult time."
Quigley and BGBT are yet to directly comment on the accusations.
