Lizzo has enlisted the services of attorney Marty Singer, whose past clientele include the likes of Bill Cosby, Johnny Depp, and Chris Brown, to defend the singer against the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by three of her former backup dancers.
On Thursday, Singer made his first move on Lizzo’s behalf by sharing an audition video of one of the plaintiffs, Arianna Davis. In the video, Davis praised her former employer by saying, “It’s been so amazing and such a beautiful journey. I look up to her so much. I just want to follow in her footsteps, and I just want to share that with the Queen Lizzo herself.” In an accompanying statement to TMZ, Singer said, “These do not sound like the words of someone who was harassed or discriminated against by someone they described as ‘THE QUEEN.’”
Though he has litigated lower-stakes legal matters for celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Vicky Cornell, and Zooey Deschanel, Singer’s track record as a successful yet ruthless entertainment lawyer is perhaps best reflected by former clients like Cosby, who at one point relied on his attorney to silence sexual assault allegations so much that Vanity Fair noted the actor commonly used the refrain “Get Marty for me!” until the two parted ways in 2015. The attorney has also fielded similar high-profile cases for Johnny Depp, Brett Ratner, Danny Masterson, Kevin Connolly, Charlie Sheen, John Travolta, Chris Brown, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Most recently, Singer defended Jonah Hill against “predatory behavior” allegations made by actress Alexa Nikolas.
While Singer’s hiring may bring unwanted associations toward Lizzo, Beyoncé has opted to keep her distance from the legal drama after omitting the singer’s name while performing the “Break My Soul” remix at her “Renaissance World Tour” stop in Boston on Tuesday.
If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual misconduct, you can reach out for support:
RAINN Hotline
1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
http://www.rainn.org
Crisis Text Line
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)
