Updated: 8/1 5 pm to reflect comments from Lizzo's former creative director Quinn Wilson.
Working with Lizzo is anything but “Good As Hell,” according to three of her former backup dancers.
On Tuesday, Arianna Davis, Noelle Rodriguez and Crystal Williams filed a lawsuit against Lizzo, her company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc., and dance captain Shirlene Quigley, alleging the “Juice” artist created a hostile work environment, subjecting them to several types of harassment, per NBC News.
Alongside accusing the dancers, who appeared alongside the singer on her reality series Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, of drinking on the job, ultimately firing Williams due to “budget cuts” after she denied Lizzo’s suspicions they had been boozing at work, the artist also purportedly pressured her team to interact with performers at a strip club in Amsterdam.
Lizzo has been sued by three of her former dancers for alleged sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, including instances where they were weight-shamed and pressured while at a strip club. pic.twitter.com/aqmszuUDwK
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 1, 2023
During their time at the gentleman’s club, Lizzo is said to have pressed the dancers to eat bananas sticking from performers’ vaginas and catch dildos catapulted from these nether regions.
But it wasn’t just this alleged sexual harassment that led Davis, Rodriguez and Williams to take legal action. Though Lizzo has long served as an outspoken advocate for body positivity, she purportedly isn’t above some good old-fashioned body shaming, questioning Davis’ commitment to her position after she noticed the performer had gained weight, a comment the dancers’ attorney Ron Zambrano found very ironic.
“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,” he said.
Though Lizzo has remained tight-lipped on the lawsuit, several fans already think it’s already “About Damn Time” the singer addresses these alarming allegations.
“Lizzo if these allegations are true I’m so disgusted how are you going weight shame people when people drag you for your weight ?” Instagram user @only1ofdess commented on one of the shapewear mogul’s recent posts. “Plus sexual harassment wow.”
“What about the harassment girl?” asked @amnaitadori.
“Girl what are these allegations please…,” added @ukuzii.
To paraphrase Lizzo herself, sometimes the “Truth Hurts.”
Lizzo’s former creative director, along with one of her former dancers, share support for the lawsuit filed against the singer:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 1, 2023
“I’m not apart of the lawsuit - but this was very much my experience in my time there… I very much applaud the dancers courage to bring this to… pic.twitter.com/ojxxQ7l28m
It seems these dancers are far from alone in their frustrations with Lizzo. As news of the lawsuit began spreading throughout social media, Quinn Wilson, the musician's former creative director, headed to Instagram to commend the performers for taking a stand.
“I haven't been a part of that world for around three years, for a reason. I very much applaud [sic] the dancers courage to bring this to light,” she wrote on her Instagram story alongside a screenshot from another one of Lizzo's former dancers. “And I grieve parts of my own experience. Id appreciate space to understand my feelings.”
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