Lizzo has spoken out to address claims from her former dancers that she weight-shamed and sexually harrassed them while they worked for her.
As reported by NBC News, three of Lizzo's former dancers accused the rapper of "creating a hostile work environment" in a lawsuit which was filed on Tuesday.
The suit was brought by her former dancers, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez, in which they alleged the singer and her staff made their working environment uncomfortable.
After the news went public, Lizzo has now spoken out to deny their claims, stating that they are "false allegations" which she would not ordinarily respond to, but felt they were "too outrageous" not to address.
In a lengthy statement shared to social media, Lizzo wrote: "These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized.
"Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed."
She added: "These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.
"As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans. With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team.
"I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days. I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not.
"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.
"I'm hurt but I will not let the good work I've done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support to lift me up during this difficult time."
In the filing, Davis had alleged that she was so intimidated by Lizzo that she feared losing her job if she went to the bathroom, causing her to soil herself during a rehearsal.
The suit further alleges that if Lizzo wasn't satisfied with the dancer's performances, they would either have to audition for their roles again or face being fired.
Williams alleged in the suit that she challenged the rapper after the dancers were reportedly accused of drinking on the job, and she claims she was subsequently fired five days later.
The filing also claimed that Lizzo hosted afterparties following her shows which were not mandatory for dancers to attend, but the consensus reportedly was that those who did go had better job security.
It detailed an reported outing to Bananenbar, a strip club in Amsterdam, where Lizzo allegedly "began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas."
The suit continued: "Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women."
Davis states that she refused to do as Lizzo asked, and further claimed that this resulted in chants being led by the rapper despite the plaintiff looking visibly uncomfortable, before Lizzo then allegedly turned her attention to a member of her security staff and told them to remove their clothing.
"Plaintiffs were aghast with how little regard Lizzo showed for the bodily autonomy of her employees and those around her, especially in the presence of many people whom she employed," the lawsuit expressed.
Shirlene Quigley, Lizzo's dance captain, is also named in the lawsuit as preaching her Christian beliefs to the dance group, allegedly taking "every opportunity to proselytize to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations."
Although Lizzo publicly stands for body positivity and inclusivity, the dancers claimed they were also "weigh-shamed" by the singer and her staff, noting that comments were "charged with racial and fat-phobic animus".
They claimed that when they asked for their downtime to be paid at a rate of 50% of their salary, they were allegedly offered 25% and scolded by the accounting staff for being "unacceptable and disrespectful".
The suit claims: "Only the dance cast - comprised of full-figured women of color - were ever spoken to in this manner."
Ron Zambrano, the plaintiff's lawyer, stated: "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."
Lizzo has since spoken out to deny all of the claims made against her by the trio.
