Lizzo Sued By Former Dancers

Three of Lizzo's former dancers have sued her over creating a hostile work environment, and allegedly pressuring them to pose nude for a photoshoot.

Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez, filed a lawsuit against the superstar for a hostile work environment, disability discrimination, religious harassment, sexual harassment, and more.

It names Lizzo (real name: Melissa Jefferson), her tour company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. (BGBT), and dance captains Shirlene Quigley.

The group have alleged Quigley displayed sexually inappropriate behaviour towards the team, and claimed she made them "uncomfortable" when she would "simulate oral sex on a banana in front of the rest of the dance cast,” allegedly making several comments about Davis being a virgin.

While competing on Lizzo's reality series, Davis and Williams were allegedly told they were required to participate in a nude photoshoot. They didn't want to but feared they would be sent home if they refused.

“Ms. Davis broke down in tears on set while struggling to choose between a once in a lifetime career opportunity and putting her body on display against her will. This experience foreshadowed the sexually charged and uncomfortable environment Lizzo’s employees would be forced to endure.”

The dancers also alleged during a trip to Amsterdam, Lizzo invited them to the Red Light District, and even though it wasn't mandatory, they felt "obligated" to attend out of "fear of losing their jobs."

“While at Bananenbar, things quickly got out of hand. Lizzo began 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. Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club.”

The dancers had a three month hiatus before leaving for the European portion of Lizzo's tour, and during the break, they looked for other work in the off time, since they were only paid while on tour.

Lizzo preferred them not to take another job, and when they asked for compensation during the off period, they were offered 25% of their weekly pay and scolded for "unacceptable and disrespectful behaviour while on tour." Other members were receiving 50% of their weekly pay during the off period.

Davis and Williams were fired due to “budget cuts.” Davis claims she was fired after recording a dance team meeting, allegedly upsetting Lizzo. 

Prior the firing, she alleged the dancers were called into an emergency wardrobe fitting and their phones were collected by security. There are claims Lizzo called out the dancers after learning one of them recorded a previous meeting and interrogated all of them until Davis came forward and she was fired on the spot.

The other dancer Rodrigues resigned after the "appalling behavious," having allegedly gotten into a disagreement with Lizzo after the firing of the other dancers.

“Lizzo aggressively approached Ms. Rodriguez, cracking her knuckles, balling her fists, and exclaiming, ‘You’re lucky. You’re so f—g lucky!’ Ms. Rodriguez feared that Lizzo intended to hit her and would have done so if one of the other dancers had not intervened. Neither security nor management did anything to de-escalate the situation. As Lizzo left the room, she raised both her middle fingers and yelled, ‘Bye, bitch!’”

Lizzo is known for using her fame and platform to fight for social justice, promoting body positivity, and the trio's lawyers are stating the accusations don't align with her values that are portrayed.

“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."

Lizzo has also decided to speak out following the accusations she created a toxic work environment.

“These last few days have gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized.” 

She called the allegations against her “false,” “unbelievable” and “too outrageous not to 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 said that “with passion comes hard work and high standards,” and claimed she has to make “hard decisions” but doesn't intentionally make people feel not “valued as an important part of the team.” 

She said she is “not here to be looked at as a victim” but is also “not the villain” she has been “portrayed” as.

“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.”

The trio have remembered the unsavory trip to Amsterdam.

“While at Bananenbar, things quickly got out of hand. Lizzo began 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. Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club.”

Sophia Nahli Allison, who previously worked with Lizzo on a documentary, also recalled her experiences with the singer.

“I usually do not comment on anything pop culture related. But, in 2019, I traveled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary. I walked away after about 2 weeks. I was treated with such disrespect by her."

“I was not protected and was thrown into a sh—y situation with little support. My spirit said to run as fast as you f—king can and I’m so grateful I trusted my gut. I felt gaslit and was deeply hurt, but I’ve healed.”

Attorney Ronald Zambrano, who is representing the plaintiffs, claimed they were traumatised up to the last day of employment.

"The theme that I'm hearing is that there's an external persona that Lizzo presents, inclusivity and come as you are, but in private, it was very different. And that's what came across to me in talking to these young ladies. Lizzo was very different privately." 

"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," the suit claims. Davis then confessed she had recorded her but claimed that she expressed to Lizzo that she didn't mean to cause any harm and that she had deleted the audio. Afterward, the suit alleges that Lizzo and Quigley "took turns berating Ms. Davis" and fired her on the spot.

Lizzo continued; "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. 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.”

Zambrano claims Davis was forced to stay behind, detained in the room where Lizzo was confronted by Rodriguez. It was claimed she was frightened and couldn't wait to leave. She was eventually released when no footage was found on her phone.

"She was really scared. With these big security guys around, what are you supposed to do? They demanded her phone. I mean, they were in a foreign country, basically at the behest of this very powerful employer who is the person that got you into this other country. It's a disparity of power. What choice do you have to really be like, 'No?'" he says. 

"They all told me they were scared that someone was going to come back and hurt them. That they had either bugged the room or were surveilling them. [The dancers] had this fear — that's how paranoid Lizzo was starting to act those last few weeks — that they were being bugged. And that's why my clients left so quickly in the middle of the tour. It hadn't even ended. And, of course, it's illegal what they did to Davis. She was held against her will. That shouldn't happen."

In August 2021, two days after her song 'Rumors' was released, Lizzo appeared on an Instagram Live crying, claiming a racist, fat-phobic comment aimed at her hurt her. Zambrano believes the singer has another side to her that many are unaware of.

"She didn't seem very approachable or empathetic. There were cliques within the clique. Even though they were on tour with her, they felt excluded at times. Lizzo used to have an all-Black management team. In the last two years, that changed. Now it's white Europeans. The team was treating the Black dancers differently… and Lizzo was constantly talking about everyone else's weight. The idea of weight and weight gain was brought up then explicitly."

The dancers have claimed she brought up Davis' weight gain multiple times, during tour and out. She had allegedly impressed upon Davis that she needed to disclose her weight gain in order to keep her job.

Once she did this, it was alleged Lizzo offered her time off from rehearsals and therapy, even though Davis wasn't interested.

“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.”

While on a night out in Amsterdam, Lizzo allegedly badgered a security guard to get on stage at a club "until he submitted to her demands. There are claims his pants were pulled down, exposing his backside, and Lizzo hit him with whips while yelling "Take it off!"

"That's why when Lizzo invited them to go on these outings, my clients felt like, 'Oh my God, here's our opportunity to show who we are outside of the context of dancing.' And then it became something else," Zombrano said. "It's one of those things where you don't want to meet your heroes."

Lizzo responded: "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."

Others who have worked with Lizzo have also corroborated the claims of the dancers.

Former dancer Courtney Hollinquest said, “I’m not a part of the lawsuit - but this was very much my experience in my time there. Big shoutout to the dancers who had the courage to bring this to light."

Quinn Whitney Wilson, Lizzo’s former creative director said, “I haven’t been a part of that world for around three years, for a reason. And I grieve parts of my own experience.”

Zombrano is hoping moving forward his clients will get the chance to share their experiences in court.

"I don't think they're worried about getting work because of their emotional state. I just think they're afraid of getting work because they pissed off Lizzo."