Grammy award winning singer Lizzo was sued by former dancers in her troupe for sexual harassment, hostile work environment and body shaming.
In a lawsuit filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, three former dancers accused Lizzo, and the captain of her dance team Shirlene Quigley, for religious harassment, body shaming. In one of the incidents cited in the suit, after a performance at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival, dancer Arianna Davis was told that she seemed ‘less committed’ to her role- a comment which thinly suggested she needed to lose weight.
Another dancer was scolded after the singer called to attention their weight gain, and later fired the same dancer after she had recorded a meeting because of a health condition.
“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 demoralizing,” Zambrano said in a statement.
Lizzo has been open about embracing body diversity, releasing several songs like ‘Good as hell’ and ‘Juice’, which encouraged women to love their curves as they are.
The suit described how the dancers were put in uncomfortable positions including an Amsterdam trip to a strip club, where Lizzo allegedly pressurised the cast members to touch the nude performers, including Ms. Davis despite her reluctance. When Davis obliged and briefly touched the performer, the crowd began laughing. Afterwards, Lizzo pushed a member of the security staff on the stage and began yelling ‘take it off!’, according to the staff present.
“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,” the suit detailed.
A week later, after a performance in Paris, the suit reveals the dancers were invited by Lizzo to a club, but they were shocked to discover that it was actually a nude cabaret bar.
The suit said the plaintiffs were “shocked that Lizzo would conceal the nature of the event from them, robbing them of the choice not to participate.”
The suit also described the instances of racial and religious harassment dancers had faced, who were the sole women of color present in the group. On one instance, a former dancer requested 50% compensation for her downtime, and the accountant began scolding her for being “unacceptable and disrespectful” and instead offered 25%.
“Only the dance cast — comprised of full-figured women of color — were ever spoken to in this manner,” the claim stated.
Dancers were also subjected to pressure to convert to Christianity by the dance captain, Quigley, who preached her Christian beliefs and “took every opportunity to proselytize to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations.” Several cast members asked her to stop pressurising the dancer Rodriguez about her faith, whom Quigley described as a ‘non-believer’, the accused had responded:
“No job and no one will stop me from talking about the Lord.”
Lizzo has not responded to the lawsuit, but several other public figures since then have come forward with accusations of rude behavior and unprofessionalism from the pop singer. Filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison shared that she dropped out as director for Lizzo’s documentary in 2019, citing rudeness from the ‘Cuz I Love You’ singer.
Lizzo’s former creative director, along with another former dancer, had sent their support to the dancers who had filed the lawsuit against the ‘Juice’ singer.
