On August 1, 3 former dancers (Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez) of the pop star Lizzo (Melissa Jefferson) have filed a lawsuit in the state of California against her, BGBT (Big grrrl, Big Touring, Inc.), and Shirlene Quigly for sexual harassment, religious harassment, racial harassment, and for creating a hostile work environment. Lizzo has also been called out for weight shaming.
This comes as a shock to many, including myself, as these allegations go against everything that she stands for. Lizzo’s whole platform is encouraging woman of all shapes and sizes to live their best life and not to let the negativity get to them.
For her to talk about the hardships that black and plus size woman go through every day is complete hypocrisy because behind the scenes she was being the very person she told people to not be. Not only did she demean her dancers, but she also let down all her fans that found comfort and confidence in her.
11th grader Katherine Reyes says “The Lizzo lawsuit is very disappointing because Lizzo was such a big artist in the music industry, she helped so many people overcome their insecurities, she was very helpful to that” and “I will never be able to support Lizzo” Everyone is incredible disappointed in Lizzo’s actions, and many will never be able to support her again.
Furthermore, the treatment that her dancers went through was a horrifying experience that no one should ever have to go through. Allegedly Lizzo forced her dancers to have unwanted contact with nude dancers, she tricked them into going to a nude cabaret bar, and she would shame them when they would gain weight.
Not only was Lizzo a terrible employer, but she let the lead cast coach, Shirlene Quigly forced her dancers into Christan prayer even if it went against their beliefs. As their employer, Lizzo was supposed to have her dancers back not instill them with fear. The dancers felt that they had to do what Lizzo said even if it was dehumanizing, in fear that she would fire them.
Lizzo has since come out on various social media platforms and denied these allegations, saying “my work ethic, morals, and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegation but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed”
Yes, people make lies about celebrities all the time, but these dancers risked their entire future careers when they decided to speak out against Lizzo because no one is going to want to hire them if they are perceived as “difficult to work with.”
CSHS Theatre teacher Mrs. Krantz understands the fear artists face in their careers. “We want so badly as performers and artists to have a good reputation, we want to be easy to work with, we want to be kind, and have that easy going reputation, and if you push back too much if you ask why too much maybe that could keep you from getting a job.”
Since these allegations came out, Lizzo has lost over 150,000 followers on Instagram and has received numerous hateful comments and disputing messages from former fans. After posting her response, Lizzo did not skip a beat and continued posting normal content.
Since the 3 victims have come forward, six more former dancers contacted Lizzo’s attorney (Ron Zambrano) and have said that they experienced similar treatment. While Zambrano is being respectful towards the situation, one of Lizzo’s other lawyers Marty Singer is saying that this lawsuit seems “specious”. This is just a slap in the face for the victims because he is implying that they are liars.
Thankfully, the 3 dancers who have come out and shared their experiences have lots of love and support. What Lizzo did was unjustifiable and completely disheartening. I hope that she never treats another person like this ever again.
As to what can be done to avoid this happening in the future, Krantz tries to prepare her students for the harsh realities of professional careers in the arts. In her Theatre classes, she stresses the importance of students having “a strong sense of who they are” and “what they are comfortable with and what they aren’t.” Hopefully lessons like these will stick so that future artists of all kinds can feel safe speaking up at work.
