Lizzo has filed a motion to dismiss a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against her by three of her former dancers, calling the accusations a “fabricated sob story” created by “opportunists” seeking “a quick payday.”
The motion was written by Martin Singer, an attorney known for his ruthless defense of celebrities like Chris Brown, Bill Cosby, and Johnny Depp. “Plaintiffs embarked on a press tour, vilifying defendants and pushing their fabricated sob story in the courts and in the media. That ends today,” Singer wrote. “Instead of taking any accountability for their own actions, plaintiffs filed this lawsuit against defendants out of spite and in pursuit of media attention, public sympathy and a quick payday with minimal effort.”
Lizzo has already denied the allegations — which include sexual harassment, a toxic work environment, and racial and disability discrimination — arguing that plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez were fired due to their own inappropriate and unprofessional behavior. She’s now filed sworn statements from 18 of her current touring company that speak to her character and dispute the allegations.
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Davis accused Lizzo and her team of questioning her weight gain, but one dancer denied all claims of body-shaming. “I never saw anyone, including plaintiffs, being weight shamed or body shamed,” they wrote. “Far from it. Lizzo inspired all of us to celebrate and love ourselves and our bodies as we are.”
In another statement, Molly Gordon, Lizzo’s tour manager, challenged Davis’ accusation that the singer forced her to engage with a performer at a sex show in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. “When I was at Bananenbar, I spoke with Davis,” Gordon wrote. “She did not say that she felt uncomfortable, that she felt forced to be there, or that she wanted to leave but felt that she could not do so,” Gordon said in the filing. “There would have been no question about whether she could leave if she was uncomfortable. I did not witness her engaging with any of the Bananenbar performers.”
One dancer, Chawnta Van, disputed claims that Lizzo’s dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, forced her religious beliefs onto dancers and engaged in harassment, while another, Asia Banks, said she was never made to feel bad about her weight despite being “the biggest dancer on the tour.”
“Lizzo always went out of her way to make me feel secure and confident in my body, including by making sure I was comfortable in every single costume for the show,” Banks said.
In addition to these sworn statements, Lizzo’s legal team is attempting to invoke California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which makes it easier for defendants to shut down lawsuits that threaten free speech. The artist’s attorneys argue that the creative nature of her job allows for her targeted behavior.
“The complaint — and plaintiffs’ carefully choreographed media blitz surrounding its filing — is a brazen attempt to silence defendants’ creative voices and weaponize their creative expression against them,” Lizzo’s attorneys wrote. Attorneys for Davis, Williams, and Rodriguez criticized the motion in a statement to Billboard.
“Even a first-year law student can see that ‘free speech’ does not cover Lizzo and her team’s illegal sexual harassment and racial, religious, and disability discrimination,” said Neama Rahmani of West Coast Employment Lawyers. “And filming a reality TV show doesn’t give Lizzo the right to break the law.”
In September, Lizzo was hit with a second lawsuit by a separate former employee, who accused her, wardrobe manager Amanda Nomura, and tour manager Carlina Gugliotta of racial and sexual harassment, disability discrimination, illegal retaliatory termination, and assault.
