Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Americans are calling Lizzo ‘R. Belly’ on Twitter after weight-shaming her dancers.
Other allegations mentioned in the lawsuit include Lizzo falsely accusing dancers of drinking on the job, leading to an “excruciating” audition, and the singer pressuring them to touch a nude performer in Amsterdam. The plaintiffs also complain that Lizzo’s dance team captain, Shirlene Quigley, made inappropriate sexual comments while chastising members of the team who had premarital sex. They believe that Lizzo was aware of the complaints against Quigley, but did not take action.
Three of Lizzo’s former dancers have accused the singer of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. They also allege that she pressured one of them to touch a nude performer at an Amsterdam club and subjected the group to an “excruciating” audition after leveling false accusations that they were drinking on the job.
The dancers accused Lizzo — a performer known for embracing body positivity and celebrating her physique — of calling attention to one dancer’s weight gain and later berating, then firing, that dancer after she recorded a meeting because of a health condition.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and provided to NBC News by the plaintiffs’ law firm, also accuses the captain of Lizzo’s dance team of proselytizing to other performers and deriding those who had premarital sex while sharing lewd sexual fantasies, simulating oral sex and publicly discussing the virginity of one of the plaintiffs.
The suit does not say if Lizzo knew about the allegations linked to the dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, but the plaintiffs believed the singer was aware of their complaints about her, according to their lawyer, Ron Zambrano.
In addition to the hostile work environment and sexual harassment claims, the lawsuit also claims religious and racial harassment, false imprisonment, interference with prospective economic advantage, and more, although not every claim applies to every defendant. The defendants are named as Lizzo (Melissa Viviane Jefferson), Quigley, and Lizzo’s production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc.
