Lizzo has dismissed the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against her as "unbelievable" and "outrageous".
The 'Good as Hell' hitmaker is being sued by three of her former backing dancers for alleged sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and discrimination and she's now spoken out about the allegations for the first time, insisting the claims are untrue and her accusers had previously been warned about their own "inappropriate and unprofessional" conduct.
She wrote in a statement shared to Instagram: "These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing.
“My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned.
“My character has been criticized.
“Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed.
“These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behaviour on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.(sic)"
Plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez have accused the Grammy Award winner – as well as the ‘Big Grrrl Big Touring’ and dance team captain Shirlene Quigley – of creating a “sexually charged and uncomfortable” work environment in their lawsuit.
The trio claim while on a concert trip with Lizzo to Amsterdam in February 2023, that she invited them for a night out on the town that ended in the city’s Red Light District.
They said in their filing: “Things quickly got out of hand. 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 dancers added Lizzo allegedly “pressured” and “goaded” Davis into touching one of the nude performer’s breasts.
Ron Zambrano, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said in a statement: “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.”
Hours after the lawsuit news was made public, Lizzo's former creative director Quinn Whitney Wilson and dancer Courtney Hollinquest claimed they experienced similar mistreatment.
Hollinquest said on her Instagram on Tuesday: “For clarification, I’m not a part of the lawsuit – but this was very much my experience in my time there.
“Big shout-out to the dancers who had the courage to bring this to light.”
Wilson shared a screenshot online of Hollinquest’s statement to her own social media page, saying she was “echoing” everything that was already said.
She added: “I haven’t been a part of that world for around three years, for a reason.
“I very much applaud the dancers courage to bring this to light. and I grieve parts of my own experience.
“I’d appreciate space to understand my feelings.”