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In the nearly two and a half years since three of Lizzo's former dancers filed a lawsuit against her and her production company for sexual harassment and fat-shaming, the singer has said very little about the allegations. But now, after a new development in the case, Lizzo is addressing it with a new statement on her social media channels.
On August 1, 2023, the dancers in question allege that Lizzo created a hostile work environment, pressured one of them to touch a nude performer, and shamed—then ultimately fired—one of them over weight gain. Lizzo is addressing the latter of those accusations now that the plaintiffs have rescinded that aspect of their complaint.
Videos posted to Instagram and TikTok on December 15 show Lizzo in a blue dress, standing silently while overlay text speaks for her. “The-fat shaming claims against me have been officially dropped by my accusers. They conceded it had no merit in court,” the statement starts. “There was no evidence that I fired them because they gained weight. Because it never happened. Now the truth is finally out.”
The text continues, “They weren’t fired for gaining weight. They were fired for taking a private recording of me without my consent and sending it off to ex-employees. I have never fired an employee for gaining weight. I have only encouraged and supported people with bigger bodies and shared my platform with them.”
Soft instrumental music plays as the statement goes on to read, “This claim has haunted me since the day it came out. It has been devastating to suffer through this in silence but I let my lawyers lead and I'm so grateful for this victory. I am still in a legal battle. I am not settling. I will be fighting every single claim until the truth is out.”
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Representatives for West Coast Employment Lawyers, the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, shared a statement with Allure regarding the choice to drop the fat-shaming claims in their suit. “We are maintaining that Judge Epstein was correct in his ruling denying Lizzo's special motion to strike the vast majority of claims they attacked, including false imprisonment and harassment," attorney Ron Zambrano says, referring to how the case will continue with the other claims. "Of the couple of claims Judge Epstein did dismiss, the plaintiffs have taken a considered approach to leave that be. One would hope to see the same level of intellectual honesty and neutral assessment from the defendants, but that hasn’t been the case thus far and it’s disappointing.”
The lawsuit, as Lizzo noted in her video, is still ongoing. The singer and her production company still face allegations of creating a hostile work environment and sexual harassment.
