Lizzo Loses Over 120k Instagram Followers After Lawsuit Claims
Following her response, which denied the allegations.
UPDATE (August 4, 2023): As a result of the growing backlash surrounding Lizzo’s response to the lawsuit, the artist has reportedly lost over 120,000 Instagram followers. Sharing a response to the claims of sexual harassment, body-shaming and toxic working conditions, Lizzo went on to deny the allegations and claimed that her actions were misrepresented by “sensationalized stories.”
Stay tuned for more details as the story develops.
UPDATE (August 3, 2023): Following initial allegations from Lizzo’s former tour dancers, director Sophia Nahli Allison has also come forward after dropping out of Lizzo’s documentary. She stated, “She is a narcissistic bully and has built her brand off of lies. I was excited to support and protect a Black woman through the documentary process but quickly learned her image and “message” was a curated facade.”
Not long after, Lizzo took to her own social media to share her response, stating that the claims were “false.” “I am here not to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain,” her statement read. She 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.”
Sharing a statement on Instagram, Lizzo’s caption also read: “Inviting your employees to a strip club is not sexual assault (and is damaging to use this term so freely) and questioning someone’s dedication to their work does not automatically mean body shaming. People are so quick to tear down the hand that feeds them. Secretly recording confidential sessions with your employer is a sackable offence. The language in these articles and allegations is weak at best and I hope both sides to the story are properly acknowledged before people make such solid verdicts.”
Take a look at her statement in full below and keep reading for the original story.
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Original story: Lizzo is currently the talk of the internet as three of her former backup dancers have accused the singer of sexual harassment, the creation of a hostile work environment and false imprisonment.
Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams began performing with Lizzo after joining her dance competition show, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, followed by Noelle Rodriguez, who named Lizzo, her production company and dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, in the lawsuit with the allegations relating to incidents that took place between 2021 and 2023.
Aside from other situations, the lawsuit specifically described an incident which took place in an Amsterdam club earlier this year where 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.”
Davis was allegedly pressured to touch one of the performers and provoked by the artist when she refused. According to the statement, “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.” Lizzo was also said to have pressured one of her security staff to go on stage whilst yelling, “Take it off!”
The suit described another incident wherein Lizzo reportedly made her dancers go through a 12-hour re-audition after accusing them of drinking prior to their performances. Davis stated that she was so afraid to lose her job, that she soiled her bottoms instead of asking to use the bathroom. Davis was later fired in May 2023 after Lizzo supposedly found out that Davis recorded performance notes (which was later revealed to be because of an eye condition that caused her to lose focus in stressful situations.” A month earlier, Lizzo had reportedly confronted Davis about her “commitment” to the team, which Davis had taken as “a thinly veiled criticism of her weight.”
Separately, Rodriguez had reportedly quit due to Quigley’s “religious harassment” as she “pushed her Christianity on dancers.” Rodriguez also spoke about Williams and Davis getting fired but was disregarded as “we’ve never had problems with you,” and noted that as “one of the few members of the dance cast who is not black,” she “was not painted with the same generalized and unfounded criticisms as the black members of the dance cast.”
Finally, a statement was shared by Ron Zambrano, the attorney of the dancers, who stated, “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.”
Stay tuned for more information as the story develops.
