Will the charges against Lizzo stack up? One week after the judicial process initiated against him by three former employees, the plaintiffs’ lawyers claim to have received new testimonies from at least six people who present themselves as former collaborators of the American star.
“Some of these charges could be prosecuted, but it’s still too early to tell,” Rob Zambrano, a lawyer for the accusers, told NBC News.
The singer has been experiencing a great uproar since the legal proceedings initiated by three dancers from her world tour, the special tour, which ended at the end of July in Japan. They accuse him in particular of acts of “harassment, discrimination and aggression”, according to the documents consulted by AFP. Let’s go back to the known elements of the case.
• Who are the accusers?
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles, California, by dancers Arianna Davis, 24, Crystal Williams, 26, and Noelle Rodriguez, 25. The first two were hired by winning the show. Beware of the big Lizzo grrrls, a reality show broadcast in 2022, whose first prize was a contract with the singer. The third embarked on the tour after filming on the music video. rumorsaccording people magazine.
The law firm that represents them clarified that the first two “were finally fired, while Mrs. Rodríguez resigned due to (Lizzo’s) distressing conduct.”
• What is alleged against Lizzo
The three complainants denounced “sexual, religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assaults and kidnappings, among others,” their law firm said in the press release released by AFP. Not all of these accusations have been explained, but many elements of the complaint have been detailed in the US press.
The most recounted elements relate to an evening at a strip club called Bananenbar, during the tour’s visit to Amsterdam.
“Lizzo began encouraging members of her troupe to touch one nude performer after another, grab vibrators thrown from the performers’ vaginas, and eat bananas that protruded from their vaginas,” the complaint, broadcast via Twitter, described. variety.
It is also said that Lizzo pressured Arianna Davis to touch a stripper’s bare chest, although the young woman expressed that she did not want to. Furthermore, Lizzo would have invited his team members to this bar without informing them of the nature of the place.
Arianna Davis also accuses Lizzo of wanting to make her feel guilty about the changes in her body. The singer allegedly asked her about “her investment in the tour,” which the complaint describes as “little hidden” concerns about her weight gain: “Ms. Davis felt she had to explain this weight gain and share intimate details about her personal life. to keep his job.”
Finally, Arianna Davis says she was fired after recording a meeting. Meanwhile, Crystal Williams told CBS that she was fired days after opposing Lizzo at another meeting:
“Lizzo accused us of drinking before shows,” he says in this interview. “I asked to speak and I told him that it had never been like that (…) A few days later they fired me in a hotel lobby.”
Noelle Rodriguez reports that Lizzo “repeatedly” used the threat of dismissal as an intimidation tactic, and that she assured her company that she had “eyes and ears everywhere.” The dancer says she quit shortly after her fellow dancers were fired due to the hostile environment on tour.
• The troubled profile of the dancers’ heads
The complaint is directed at Lizzo, her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. (BGBT) and Shirlene Quigley, director of the dance troupe. The plaintiffs accuse the latter of proselytizing:
“She had made it her mission to preach” Christianity, we can read in an excerpt from a complaint transmitted by time magazine. “She took every opportunity (…) despite the protests.”
According Complex, allegedly told them explicit details of her intimate life with her husband. He also reportedly went public with the personal details of Arianna Davis’s life: “Ms. Quigley discovered that Ms. Davis was a virgin and that virginity became a matter of extreme importance to Ms. Quigley. In the following months, he mentioned regularly (…) and even mentioned it in interviews in which he participated (…)”.
Shirlene Quigley did not react directly to these accusations. But before the announcement of this complaint, she published a video with pious content:
“I just wanted to tell you that God loves you (…) Glory to God (…) I had a great time on tour, with great people.”
• Similar stories have been coming
Since his testimony, other ex-collaborators of Lizzo have spoken. Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison revealed that she briefly traveled with the 35-year-old singer in 2019 to make the documentary of her.
“I left after two weeks. He treated me with such disrespect,” he said. reported on social media.
The feature film, titled With love, Lizzo and released in 2022 on the American platform HBO Max, it was finally directed by Doug Pray.
Courtney Hollinquest, another former dancer, supported her sisters On Instagramas reported vanity fair. Quinn Whitney Wilson, Lizzo’s former artistic director, spoke in turn: “There’s a reason I left this medium, about three years ago,” she wrote on Instagram, she reported. page six. “I salute the courage of the dancers who brought this to light.”
• Lizzo’s Challenges
After several days of silence, Lizzo shared a statement Friday that she posted on Instagram denying all the allegations.
“I don’t usually respond to false accusations, but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too serious not to mention,” the singer wrote, denouncing “tabloid stories.”
According Forbeshe enlisted the services of lawyer Marty Singer, an American bar star who is one of his clients. kim kardashian, John Travolta, arnold schwarzenegger either bill cosby.
Revealed to the general public in 2019 with his third album, Because I love you, Lizzo has become one of the figures of the body-positive movement, which advocates love and self-acceptance regardless of appearance. “Behind the scenes, Lizzo contradicts everything she stands for,” Crystal Williams told CBS.
Source: BFM TV
