Lizzo's Former Dancer Alleges Singer Threatened to Hit Her After She Expressed She Felt Disrespected
The three dancers who have filed a lawsuit against Lizzo, her production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. (BGBT), and Shirlene Quigley, the captain of her dance team, are sharing more about the experiences they claim they faced while working with the singer.
According to court docs filed on Tuesday and obtained by ET, the former backup dancers -- Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez -- claim they faced sexual harassment, as well as religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault and false imprisonment, among other allegations.
"The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing," the women's attorney, Ron Zambrano, said in a press release.
Davis, Williams and Rodriguez are asking the courts for damages, including unpaid wages, loss of earnings, deferred compensation, employment benefit, emotional distress, medical expenses and attorneys' fees.
Speaking with Chris Cuomo for NewsNation on Wednesday, the trio expanded on the alleged hostile incidents that led to their filing a lawsuit against the 35-year-old GRAMMY winner.
Davis emphasized that the trio's experiences are not unique.
"It doesn't matter who the employer is. In this industry, dancers specifically are treated like we cannot be human. We are held to a standard that is inhumane, and it doesn't matter if the person employing you is a well-known, plus-size Black woman who you think will give you a safe space," she said. "The biggest thing that people can take away is also that hurt people do hurt people."
"It was all of these different microaggressions and underlying things that were going on in our work environment that made it very hostile," Williams told Cuomo.
Rodriguez claimed she was physically threatened by Lizzo the day before a show in Montreal, Canada, which was canceled, when she and other dancers were called into an "impromptu fitting" that was revealed to be an "ambush meeting" where Davis was fired.
It was during that meeting that Rodriguez says she aired her complaints about the treatment she and other dancers were allegedly subjected to.
"[Lizzo] then got upset that I told her I felt disrespected. She balled up her fist at me, and she said, 'You're so effing lucky right now, you're so effing lucky,' as she was inching her way towards me to hit me," Davis claimed, adding that the singer was restrained by another dancer and yelled "bye B-word" while flipping Rodriguez off as she was "dragged out of the room" by the other dancer.
"It was just too much to take, and it's not in my character to go up on a stage every night and enable somebody that puts out this façade that she is this grand person, she stands up for people, she's body positive, she stands up for self-love, when really she's the complete opposite behind closed doors," Rodriguez said, explaining her decision to resign.
In a statement released on Instagram Thursday morning, Lizzo called the allegations "outrageous" and "sensationalized."
"These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing," she wrote. "My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized."
She added, "It's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team."
Saying she didn't want to be viewed as a "victim," Lizzo added, "I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days."
Despite embracing being "very open with my sexuality," Lizzo shared, "There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world."
"I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight," the singer, who is known for her messages of body positivity, said.
Lizzo concluded the post by thanking those who have shown her support and vowing, "I will not let the good work I've done in the world be overshadowed by this."
After Lizzo posted her message on Thursday, Zambrano responded with a statement on behalf of the dancers.
"Lizzo has failed her own brand and has let down her fans. Her denial of this reprehensible behavior only adds to our clients' emotional distress. The dismissive comments and utter lack of empathy are quite telling about her character and only serve to minimize the trauma she has caused the plaintiffs and other employees who have now come forward sharing their own negative experiences," he stated. "While Lizzo notes it was never her intention 'to make anyone feel uncomfortable,' that is exactly what she did to the point of demoralizing her dancers and flagrantly violating the law."
According to the court documents, Davis and Williams met the "Truth Hurts" singer while preparing to be contestants on her Emmy-winning reality TV show, Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, in March 2021. When filming began five months later, they met Quigley for the first time.
"Ms. Quigley was not only vocal about her religious belief but took every opportunity to proselytize to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations. Ms. Quigley discovered that Ms. Davis was a virgin and Ms. Davis' virginity became a topic of extreme importance to Ms. Quigley," the lawsuit claims, additionally alleging that Quigley mentioned Davis' virginity in conversations, in interviews and on social media.
When Davis and Williams were selected for the dance team, they began working closely with Quigley, who allegedly continued preaching Christianity and sexuality, while discussing her masturbatory habits and sex life with her husband, the suit alleges.
As for Rodriguez, she was hired in May 2021 for Lizzo's music video and remained on as part of the dance team. The lawsuit alleges that Quigley singled out Rodriguez as a "non-believer.''
When the U.S. tour wrapped in November 2022, the women claim they asked to be paid at 50 percent of their working rate until the European leg of the tour began three months later. The suit claims that the women were offered 25 percent by BGBT and Lizzo, and were told they participated in "unacceptable and disrespectful behavior while on tour," though specifics of such behavior were allegedly never explained.
After news of the lawsuit broke, more of Lizzo's former dancers spoke out on social media in support of Davis, Williams and Rodriguez.
Why Lizzo Is Being Sued By Some of Her Former Dancers
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Why Lizzo Is Being Sued By Some of Her Former Dancers
On her Instagram Story, Courtney Hollinquest shared a screenshot of a news article about the lawsuit before addressing it directly on the next slide.
"I'm not a part of the lawsuit -- but this was very much my experience in my time there," she wrote. "Big shoutout to the dancers who had the courage to bring this to light."
Quinn Wilson shared Hollinquest's post on her own Story, writing, "I haven't been a part of that world for around three years, for a reason. I very much applaude [sic] the dancers' courage to bring this to light. And I grieve parts of my own experience. I'd appreciate space to understand my feelings."
Hollinquest reposted Wilson's message, calling her fellow dancer "my sister forever."
"Only a few know what we've been through... love u Quinn," she wrote.
Meanwhile, Lizzo's attorney, Marty Singer, calls the lawsuit "specious and without merit."
"Evidence of this being a sham lawsuit is confirmed by one of the plaintiffs Ariana Davis in her own words in her video interview for Season 2 of Watch Out for the Big Grrrls in April 2023, which she made after the European Tour, after virtually all of her alleged claims referred to in her lawsuit had already occurred," he tells ET. "Notwithstanding her claims in the lawsuit that it was so horrible to work with Lizzo as a dancer, after being on tour with Lizzo, she actually auditioned to continue working with Lizzo as a singer on an upcoming tour as part of a girl group."
In the video, obtained by ET and first TMZ, Davis gushes over Lizzo and pitches herself as a singer after serving as the star's backup dancer. She says she's auditioning for season 2 of the Prime Video reality series after working with Lizzo for "close to a year now."
"It's been so amazing and such a beautiful journey," Davis says. "My voice has gone quiet for too long and I think that I have a story that people need to hear because I think they can relate to it and it can help change lives and do what Lizzo is doing! I look up to her so much... I just want to follow in her footsteps, and I just want to share that with the Queen Lizzo herself."
According to Singer, the video was shot after the European leg of Lizzo's tour and season 1 of Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, which is also after the alleged incidents in which Davis claims Lizzo pressured her to "touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club" and tricked them into going to a nude cabaret bar, thus "robbing them of the choice not to participate."
It was also filmed after Davis alleges Lizzo and choreographer Tanisha Scott accused her of not being committed to her role and weight-shamed her, and she was fired "for innocently recording a meeting the dancers had with Lizzo about their performances," something she says she did because she suffers from an eye condition that sometimes leaves her disoriented in stressful situations, the suit alleges. Davis additionally alleges that she was "detained in the room where the meeting had taken place by a member of Lizzo's security detail" so he could search for the video on her phone.
"These do not sound like the words of someone who was harassed or discriminated against by someone they described as 'THE QUEEN,'" Singer declares. "They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and here a video shows that there are no legitimate claims in this lawsuit. We are confident that Lizzo will be completely vindicated in this matter."
Davis responded to the video's release in a statement, saying, "Of course, I wasn't going to say anything negative about the camp while I was still in it. Right up until the last minute, I didn't realize how bad it was and how much I was being taken advantage of. I just genuinely wanted to save my job."
"This video further explains how much I was trying to please Lizzo. But it was such a toxic work environment because throughout all the abuse, I was still trying to please her and make her think that I was good enough," she continues. "This video was done before the bulk of our allegations occurred, and this was just me grasping at straws and my last attempt to make her see how committed I was to being loyal to her and her camp."
Neama Rahmani, who is also representing the former backup dancers, adds: "Given Lizzo is denying that any of this happened, let's take it to trial. More witnesses are coming forward every day corroborating the plaintiffs' allegations, so we're looking forward to facing Lizzo and her team in court."
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