Throughout her career, Lizzo has talked about how important it is to be kind and stood up for people who have been left out.
But if you believe what a new lawsuit says, the pop superstar hasn’t been following her own advice.
Three of Lizzo’s former backup dancers are now suing her.
The former employees say that while they were on tour with Lizzo, they were sexually harassed and made fun of for their bodies all the time.
Plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez filed a civil suit against Lizzo and her dance team captain Shirlene Quigley on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. They say they were subjected to racial harassment, discrimination based on disability, assault, and being held against their will.
The dancers are suing Quigley, Melissa Viviane Jefferson, who goes by the stage name Lizzo, and her production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc., for unspecified damages.
In one shocking part of the civil complaint, the three people say that their bosses forced them to eat a banana from a performer’s vagina at a sex show in Amsterdam.
They also say that they were forced to work “grueling” 12-hour days and that they were wrongly blamed for things like drinking on the job.
The dancers say that Lizzo made a mean comment about a dancer’s weight at least once.
This case will probably not be settled for a few months, but Lizzo is already being found guilty in the court of public opinion.
Sophia Nahli Allison, who makes documentaries, went on Twitter this week to agree with the claim that Lizzo is a bad boss.
“I usually don’t have anything to say about pop culture,” Allison wrote.
“But in 2019, when I was making Lizzo’s documentary, I went on a few trips with her. After about two weeks, I left. She treated me with so much disrespect,” she said.
“She is a self-centered bully who has built her reputation on lies. “I was happy to help and protect a Black woman during the making of the documentary, but I quickly found out that her image and “message” were just an act,” Allison said.
“She treated me with so much disrespect. I saw how rude, self-centered, and mean she can be.”
Neither Lizzo nor Quigley has talked about the situation in public.
And it’s likely that both sides will keep quiet at the request of their lawyers.
We’ll have more information as it comes in about how this situation is changing.