Lizzo was “blindsided” by being sued for alleged sexual misconduct and hostile workplace conditions.
The 36-year-old singer was hit by shocking claims in August 2023 from her dancers, who sued the star for sexual and racial harassment and claimed she created a toxic working environment and subjected them to weight-shaming.
Their complaints infamously included a story about Lizzo allegedly once forcing them to touch nude performers at a nightclub and telling them to eat bananas “protruding” from the female performers’ private parts.
Addressing the claims in detail for the first time during an in-depth interview, Lizzo said on the ‘Baby, This is Keke Palmer’ podcast: “2023 was an amazing year for me.
“It was a career-high – like, we had the Record of the Year at the Grammys for ‘About Damn Time’.
“I was on my first arena tour and I got to bring the wonderful ‘Big Grrrl’ dancers from ‘Watch Out for the Big Grrls’ on stage with me every night. Like, I was literally living in my dream.
“Then the tour ended, and three ex-dancers just completely, like, blindsided me with a lawsuit.”
Lizzo added she was “completely surprised” by the complaint and wasn’t given any warning they were planning to sue.
She went on: “I was very deeply hurt because these were three ex-dancers, so they weren’t on the tour.
“They didn’t, like, finish the tour out with us. But even regardless of that, these were people that I gave opportunities to.
“These were people that… I liked and appreciated them as dancers, respected them as dancers.
“So I was like, what? But then I heard all the other things like sexual harassment, and I was like, they’re trying, well, I don’t know what they’re trying to do, but these are the types of things that the media can turn into something that it’s not.”
The three backup dancers who sued Lizzo were Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez.
They filed a lawsuit against the ‘Good as Hell’ singer and her Big Grrrl Big Touring company.
Addressing their claims about the alleged incident at a nightclub, Lizzo insisted it was never “mandatory” for her dancers to come out with her and said she invited them out of kindness.
She dismissed most of the allegations as “silly” and “ridiculous”, adding: “But let’s be clear, I did nothing wrong. So I have no regrets, but I do have now this learned experience that is preparing me for the boss that I’m becoming.”
Lizzo has denied all the allegations levied against her despite more accusers coming forward.
One lawsuit was recently dismissed, and an insider close to the singer told Page Six she refuses to settle and won’t stop fighting what she sees as “false” allegations until they are all thrown out.
The case involving the three dancers still appears to be going to trial as the three plaintiffs’ attorney responded to Lizzo’s podcast comments in a statement.
Ron Zambrano told Page Six: “There is an utter lack of awareness by Lizzo failing to see how these young women on her team who are just starting their careers would feel pressured to accept an invitation from their global celebrity boss who rarely hangs out with them.
“There is a power dynamic in the boss-employee context that Lizzo utterly fails to appreciate.
“We stand by the claims in the lawsuit and are prepared to prove everything in court with Lizzo on the stand under oath before a jury of her peers, not spouting nonsense and lies rationalising a failure to take accountability on a podcast.”
