LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lizzo has been sued by three former dancers who accuse the Grammy winner of sexual harassment and allege the singer and her manufacturing firm created a hostile work setting.
The civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket claims Lizzo pressured the dancers to have interaction with nude performers at a membership in Amsterdam and shamed one in all them for her weight acquire earlier than firing her.
Plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez make quite a few expenses together with sexual, non secular and racial harassment, incapacity discrimination, assault and false imprisonment.
The authorized criticism seeks unspecified damages and names Melissa Viviane Jefferson, recognized professionally as Lizzo, her manufacturing firm Large Grrrl Large Touring, Inc., and Shirlene Quigley, captain of the performer’s dance staff.
Representatives for Lizzo didn’t instantly reply to emails in search of touch upon the lawsuit.
The courtroom submitting claims that after performing a live performance in Amsterdam, Lizzo and her crew attended a sexually themed present at a membership within the metropolis’s infamous Purple Gentle District the place “Lizzo started inviting forged members to take turns touching the nude performers.” In the course of the present, Lizzo led a chant pressuring Davis to the touch the breasts of one of many nude girls performing on the membership, the submitting states.
“Lastly, the refrain grew to become overwhelming, and a mortified Ms. Davis acquiesced in an try to convey an finish to the chants,” the criticism states. “Plaintiffs had been aghast with how little regard Lizzo confirmed for the bodily autonomy of her workers and people round her, particularly within the presence of many individuals whom she employed.”
Lizzo, who routinely champions physique positivity, can also be accused of calling out Davis for her weight acquire after accusing the dancer of not being dedicated to her position. Davis was fired in Might for recording a gathering throughout which Lizzo had given out notes to dancers about their performances, in line with the criticism.
Quigley, who served as a choose on the singer’s actuality present “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Large Grrrls,” is accused within the lawsuit of pushing her Christian beliefs onto dancers. The courtroom submitting claims Quigley referred to Davis as a “non-believer” and advised co-workers that “No job and nobody will cease me from speaking in regards to the Lord.”
Earlier this yr, Lizzo gained the Grammy for file of the yr for her hit “About Rattling Time.” A worldwide tour supporting her fourth studio album, 2022’s “Particular,” wrapped up final month.
