Lizzo denies all allegations in first legal statement
The “Juice” singer was accused of body shaming and fostering a toxic workplace by her dancers earlier this summer
Lizzo is sticking to her claim that the rumors of her toxic workplace behavior are very much not true. In the singer’s first legal statement since three former dancers sued her and her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. over allegations of body shaming, sexual harassment, and more earlier this summer, that star reiterates her innocence and asserts that she’s ready and willing to prove it in a court of law.
The statement, which you can read in full here, is mostly standard stuff. Lizzo, via her lawyer Marty Singer, is asking that the case brought against her by former dancers Ariana Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez be “dismissed in its entirety with prejudice.” “Defendants deny generally and specifically each and every allegation contained in the Complaint,” the statement says (via Deadline).
“This is the first step of a legal process in which Lizzo and her team will demonstrate that they have always practiced what they’ve preached – whether it comes to promoting body positivity, leading a safe and supportive workplace or protecting individuals from any kind of harassment,” a representative for Lizzo’s legal team said of the statement. “Any and all claims to the contrary are ridiculous, and we look forward to proving so in a court of law.”
But nothing in the statement is dissuading the team representing Lizzo’s former dancers, which dismisses the statement as “merely… boilerplate objections that have nothing to do with the case.” “The key takeaway is that Lizzo is agreeing to our clients’ demand for a jury trial,” said one of their lawyers. “We look forward to presenting our case in court and letting a panel of her peers decide who is telling the truth, Lizzo and her team who continue to shame the victims or the plaintiffs and so many others who have come forward sharing similar stories of abuse and harassment.”
Lizzo has been staunch in her denial of the allegations since all of this came out, asserting that she was “not the villain that people and the media have portrayed [her] to be” in a statement posted to Instagram in August. Last week, she was also presented with the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award at the Black Music Action Coalition Gala.