Lizzo accused of sexual harassment and weight-shaming by former dancers

Three former backup dancers allege in lawsuit the singer created a hostile work environment and pressured staff at afterparties.

Three of Lizzo’s tour dancers have accused the singer of sexual harassment, and of creating a hostile work environment through sexual, racial and religious harassment in several incidents between 2021 and 2023, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.

The dancers also alleged that Lizzo, known as an advocate for body positivity and self-love, criticized a dancer’s recent weight gain and later berated, then fired, that dancer for recording a meeting.

According to the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles and first reported by NBC News, Lizzo allegedly pressured one dancer to touch a nude performer at a club in Amsterdam and subjected several dancers to an “excruciating” 12-hour audition after making false accusations that they drank while working.

Additionally, the suit alleges that Lizzo’s dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, pushed her Christian beliefs upon other performers and denigrated those who had premarital sex, while also simulating oral sex, sharing lewd sexual fantasies and discussing one performer’s virginity.

The lawsuit does not say whether Lizzo knew about Quigley’s alleged behavior, but the plaintiffs – dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez – believe she was aware of complaints leveled against Quigley, their lawyer, Ron Zambrano, told NBC News.

The suit names Lizzo, legal name Melissa Viviane Jefferson, her production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc and Quigley as defendants. Claims include sexual harassment, creation of a hostile work environment, false imprisonment and interference with prospective economic advantage. Not every claim was brought against each defendant.

“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,” Zambrano said in a statement.

Representatives for Lizzo could not be immediately reached for comment.

The suit details an incident at an Amsterdam club earlier this year in which the singer allegedly “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 suit says. Lizzo allegedly pressured Davis to touch the nude breasts of one performer, and began goading her on when she refused.

When Davis eventually acquiesced, the group burst into laughter, the suit claims. Lizzo then allegedly pressured a member of her security staff to get on stage and yelled “Take it off!”

“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,” the suit says.

Both Davis and Williams began performing with Lizzo after they participated on Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, the dance competition show the singer hosts for Amazon, in 2021. Williams alleges that in April, she spoke up in a meeting where Lizzo accused dancers of drinking before performances, leading to a tense back and forth between them.

The day prior, Lizzo told the dancers they would have to audition again, according to the suit, leading to an “excruciating” 12-hour rehearsal in which Davis soiled her pants because she was too fearful of losing her job to use the bathroom.

Williams was fired five days later in a decision Lizzo’s team attributed to budget cuts.

Davis alleges that in April 2023, Lizzo questioned her “commitment”, which she felt was a thinly veiled criticism of her weight. She claims she was fired on the spot the following month when the singer learned she recorded performance notes, a decision Davis attributes to an eye condition that left her disoriented in stressful situations.

The third plaintiff, Rodriguez, says she quit in response to the treatment by her teammates and Quigley’s intense religious proselytizing. Rodriguez claims Quigley repeatedly pushed her Christianity on dancers, and that concerns brought to management were not addressed.

When Rodriguez brought up the firings of Williams and Davis, she claims she was dismissed as “we’ve never had problems with you”. The suit claims that Rodriguez, as “one of the few members of the dance cast who is not black, was not painted with the same generalized and unfounded criticisms as the black members of the dance cast”.

The suit does not specify a dollar amount for damages covering emotional distress, lost wages and attorneys’ fees.

Lizzo, meanwhile, has spent the majority of 2023 on tour, with legs in North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia. She wrapped the Australian section of her tour, which the Guardian described as full of “spectacular, celebratory joy”, last month.