Three of American singer and rapper Lizzo’s former tour dancers have filed a lawsuit against the singer accusing her of sexual harassment and her production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. (BGBT), of creating a hostile work environment.
Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, her production company BGBT, and dance team captain Shirlene Quigley, are named as the defendants in the lawsuit filed by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez last Tuesday, August 1, in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
In the lawsuit, the Grammy-award-winning singer is accused of pressuring the plaintiffs to engage with nude performers at a club in Amsterdam during an international tour in the country early this year – wherein, 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,” the lawsuit detailed.
The lawsuit also alleges Lizzo of pressuring her dancers to participate in a nude photo shoot during her “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” show on Amazon Prime and tricking them into going to a nude cabaret bar by concealing details about the event they’ll be attending.
The plaintiffs claimed that the singer’s abusive behavior added to their “emotional distress,” describing their work environment with the singer to be “overtly sexual” and hostile – accusing BGBT of discriminating against the Black dancers in terms of pay and treatment.
The singer, who is also known for promoting body positivity, is also accused of weight shaming and disability discrimination, along with other accusations including assault and false imprisonment.
“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,” Ron Zambrano, the lawyer of the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
Moreover, the lawsuit accused the dance captain Quigley of forcing her Christian beliefs on the dancers and criticized those who had premarital sex, while also oversharing her sex life and lewd sexual fantasies, and broadcasting a dancer’s virginity in the workplace.
Following the accusations, people who had worked with Lizzo have been sharing their experiences with the singer and giving support to the three dancers, including the filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison, Lizzo’s former creative director, and Lizzo’s former dancer:
Sharing this because validating other Black women's experiences is deeply important to me. pic.twitter.com/gd2xEK6szq
— Sophia Nahli Allison (@SophiaNAllison) August 1, 2023
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