The lawyer representing the three dancers who are suing Lizzo for sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment has claimed his firm are reviewing at least six new complaints about the singer.
The complaints come from others who have toured with Lizzo or worked on her reality show, Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls. Employment lawyer Ron Zambrano told NBC News the new allegations detail a “sexually charged environment” and failure to pay employees.
“Some of the claims we are reviewing may be actionable, but it is too soon to say,” Zambrano told the outlet.
Zambrano also claimed that Lizzo once called out a dancer’s weight at South By Southwest during a post-show meeting and told them it was “normal” for dancers to be “fired when they get fat”.
The original lawsuit was filed by Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez, who all worked for Lizzo till earlier this year, when Davis and Williams were fired and Rodriguez resigned. Lizzo’s production company Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. and her dance team captain Shirlene Quigley were also named as defendants.
The alleged incident of sexual harassment mentioned in the suit supposedly took place in a strip club in Amsterdam, which they visited after a show earlier this year. The dancers claim Lizzo allegedly bullied Davis into touching a nude performer, to the point where she led a chant goading her into doing so until she eventually gave in, despite declining multiple times.
The suit states that 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,” continuing: “Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women.”
The suit also alleges that Lizzo subjected the group to an “excruciating” audition, following 12 hours of rehearsal, after falsely accusing them of drinking on the job.
They also claimed that, in contradiction to the singer’s body positive ethos that she promotes in her music, she called attention to Davis’ weight gain by telling her she was “less committed” to her role and later berating and firing the dancer for recording a meeting because of a health condition.
Meanwhile, it accuses Quigley of proselytising to other performers and deriding those who had premarital sex while also discussing her sexual fantasies, simulating oral sex and publicly discussing the virginity of one of the plaintiffs.
Williams and Rodriguez later alleged in an interview with Sky News that they tried to “settle” the disagreement “in-house” before filing a lawsuit, but claim they were met with a “rebuttal” from Lizzo’s team.
Lizzo’s lawyer Marty Singer called the lawsuit “specious”, while in her own statement, Lizzo said she was “hurt” and denied the allegations.
“These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional,” she said.
She added: “As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans.
“With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it’s never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren’t valued as an important part of the team.
“I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days. I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not.”
The three dancers then responded to her statement, saying it was “disheartening” to read. “Initially for me it just further deepened my disappointment in regards to how I was feeling and how I was treated,” Williams told Channel 4 in an interview.
NME has approached Lizzo’s representatives for comment.
The post Lawyers reviewing new complaints from more of Lizzo’s former dancers appeared first on NME.
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