Lizzo gives 1st interview since sexual harassment lawsuits. What events led to this?

Lizzo is breaking her silence concerning the lawsuits filed towards her.

The singer was sued for alleged sexual harassment and a hostile work surroundings by three former dancers — Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez — in 2023. Quickly after, she confronted comparable allegations in a separate lawsuit filed by clothes designer Asha Daniels.

The “About Rattling Time” singer (actual title: Melissa Viviane Jefferson) went in depth on the subject for the primary time on the Child, This Is Keke Palmer podcast on Dec. 19. Lizzo, who has denied the allegations, stated she was “blindsided” by the dancers’ claims, saying “none of this stuff had been true” and “I did nothing unsuitable.”

This month Lizzo as a person was dismissed from Daniels’s lawsuit. Her touring firm stays a defendant.

Legal professional Ron Zambrano, who represents the dancers, instructed Yahoo Leisure in a press release that their lawsuit continues: “We simply wished to make clear that Lizzo stays a defendant within the harassment lawsuit filed by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, which is at present being reviewed by the court docket of appeals.”

What are the allegations towards Lizzo?

The lawsuit filed by the dancers towards Lizzo in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket on Aug. 1, 2023, alleged sexual, spiritual and racial harassment, incapacity discrimination, assault and false imprisonment, amongst different claims.

We broke down the total allegations right here, however among the many claims was that Lizzo weight-shamed one of many ladies. Two alleged they had been pressured into nude photoshoots. One stated she was pressured to the touch a nude performer’s breast at an Amsterdam membership. One claimed to be almost assaulted by Lizzo. In addition they alleged that the singer subjected them to an “excruciating” audition after falsely blaming them for ingesting whereas working.

They accused the captain of Lizzo’s dance workforce, Shirlene Quigley, of preaching Christianity to the dancers and sharing intercourse fantasies. Quigley is also accused of publicly discussing the virginity of one of many ladies.

Right here’s how Lizzo addressed the allegations on the time:

Lizzo, her manufacturing and touring firm, Massive Grrrl Massive Touring, and Quigley had been named as defendants within the lawsuit. It’s at present being reviewed by the Court docket of Enchantment, with the following listening to set for Jan. 14, 2025.

In September 2023, Daniels, a designer who toured with Lizzo, filed a lawsuit towards the singer, her manufacturing firm, her wardrobe supervisor Amanda Nomura and tour supervisor Carlina Gugliotta, alleging racial and sexual harassment. She alleged that whereas the star preached physique positivity and inclusion, individuals who labored for her had been pressured to work in a “racist and sexualized” surroundings.

Daniels stated whereas she was initially thrilled to be employed to design costumes for Lizzo and her dancers, she by no means labored or spoke instantly with the singer. She stated she labored 20-hour days. She claimed that within the office setting, racist and fat-phobic remarks had been made in her presence. She alleged that Nomura rolled a clothes rack over her foot and wouldn’t let her search medical consideration. She additionally claimed Nomura referred to the Black ladies on tour as “dumb,” “ineffective” and “fats.”

Earlier this month, a California federal court docket decide dismissed Lizzo from the lawsuit, saying Daniels had no standing to sue her. Gugliotta additionally was minimize from the lawsuit. Lizzo’s touring firm stays a plaintiff, and that case is ongoing.

What did Lizzo inform Palmer concerning the allegations?

Lizzo known as her dismissal from Daniels’s lawsuit “an enormous victory.” She vowed that she’s “persevering with to battle the opposite claims till they’re all dismissed — not dropped, however dismissed.”

Addressing the allegations made by the dancers, Lizzo stated, “The toughest half about all that is that none of this stuff had been true.” She added, “I used to be actually dwelling in my dream, after which the tour ended, and three ex-dancers simply utterly, like, blindsided me with a lawsuit.”

The singer stated she’s “very deeply harm as a result of these had been three dancers … that I gave alternatives to. These had been those who — I preferred them and appreciated them as dancers. … So I used to be like, ‘What?!’ However then I heard all the opposite issues, like sexual harassment, and I used to be like … ‘I don’t know what they’re making an attempt to do.’”

Addressing the journey to the Amsterdam burlesque present, Lizzo stated it was a “consensual” outing — she had been there earlier than and was going once more — and nobody else was required to go.

“I went [to Bananenbar] alone,” the star stated on the podcast, including that she wouldn’t talk about the subject once more. “I didn’t take [the dancers] wherever. They got here to the membership I used to be at, and it was no necessary invitation, and I didn’t even know that these two explicit dancers [plaintiffs] had been coming. Thoughts you, solely two of them got here, though all three of them stated they did, it was solely two.”

She stated they opted to go and meet the dancers after the efficiency and claimed there was video and photographs of them seemingly having time. She additionally shared the lesson she realized realizing she’s the boss.

“I believe that this expertise taught me wholesome boundaries,” she stated, including, “however to be actual with you, it was such a enjoyable night time.”

Zambrano instructed Yahoo in a press release, “There may be an utter lack of understanding by Lizzo failing to see how these younger ladies on her workforce who’re simply beginning their careers would really feel pressured to simply accept an invite from their international superstar boss who not often hangs out with them. There’s a energy dynamic within the boss-employee context that Lizzo totally fails to understand. We stand by the claims within the lawsuit and are ready to show every part in court docket with Lizzo on the stand underneath oath earlier than a jury of her friends, not spouting nonsense and lies rationalizing a failure to take accountability on a podcast.”

Lizzo instructed Palmer she’s realized so much from the lawsuits.

“That is the a part of fame that you simply unknowingly join,” she stated. “Individuals now will simply consider something dangerous about you as a result of there’s one thing about being a well-known person who it’s nearly like individuals wanna consider that you simply’re a foul individual, they usually can’t consider that you simply’re truly boring and chill and good.”

What’s subsequent for the singer?

Whereas all of this has stored Lizzo within the background a bit, she clarified that she’s not on knowledgeable hiatus. Earlier than the lawsuits, she was on a profession excessive, successful Report of the Yr for “About Rattling Time” on the 2023 Grammys. She’s at present engaged on a brand new album.

“Plenty of the music is me speaking issues by means of,” she instructed Palmer. “I remembered my goal … I’m placing every part in my artwork.”