Lizzo sued by former dancers for sexual harassment, hostile workplace environment
Three former dancers have accused Lizzo and her team of numerous offenses, including weight-shaming
Lizzo, the Grammy-winning pop star who has made body positivity a major part of her brand, is being sued by three of her former dancers who accused the singer of creating a hostile workplace environment. The suit, which names Lizzo, her production company, and her dance captain Shirlene Quigley as defendants, alleges numerous issues including sexual harassment, claims of religious and racial harassment, false imprisonment, interference with prospective economic advantage and more, according to NBC News. (Not all of the allegations are directed at every defendant.)
Lawyer Ron Zambrano said in a statement, “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.”
Arianna Davis, a former contestant on Lizzo’s reality series Watch Out For The Big Girls, reported the singer noting that Davis seemed “less committed” to her role after performing at SXSW Festival, a comment Davis believed to be a “thinly veiled” reference to her weight. Elsewhere in the suit, she alleged that Lizzo pressured her to touch a nude dancer at a strip club after party in Amsterdam. After allegedly “inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas,” she goaded Davis into touching one of the women’s breasts, the suit claims. When Davis declined, Lizzo allegedly began a chant that “grew louder and more strident, demanding a visibly uncomfortable Ms. Davis to engage with the performer.”
Elsewhere, the suit alleges that the dance cast (comprised of women of color) were treated differently than the rest of the crew on tour. The suit also claims Quigley, the dance captain, “took every opportunity to proselytize” about her religious beliefs “to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations,” allegedly pressuring one dancer whom she considered a “non-believer” over her faith.
Two of the three dancers in the suit were dismissed, and Lizzo allegedly told her dance cast during a meeting that she had “eyes and ears everywhere.” When the singer later found out Davis had recorded the meeting (supposedly due to a health condition, and so that she could review any notes afterwards), “Lizzo became furious, hurling expletives at the group and stated that she was going to go around the room, person-by-person until someone told Lizzo who made the recording,” according to the suit. When Davis admitted to recording, “Ms. Quigley and Lizzo then took turns berating Ms. Davis. After castigating Ms. Davis, Lizzo fire[d] Ms. Davis on the spot.”
Per NBC News, while there is no specific dollar amount attached to the suit, the dancers are seeking “damages that cover emotional distress including unpaid wages, loss of earnings and attorney’s fees.”