Lizzo, the Grammy-winning artist, recently dropped by the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast on Thursday, December 19. She got real with Keke Palmer about the lawsuit brought against her by three former backup dancers that’s been on the scene since August 2023.
Back in August 2023, three of Lizzo’s former backup dancers—Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez—filed a lawsuit against the “Truth Hurts” singer, claiming sexual and racial harassment along with a hostile work environment. The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accused Lizzo of pressuring her dancers to interact with nude performers at a club in Amsterdam. They also alleged that she frequently body-shamed them. Furthermore, they claimed that Lizzo’s Big Grrrl touring company subjected them to racial discrimination, treating the Black members of the dance team differently from their peers.
RELATED: UPDATE: California Judge Dismisses Several Claims Against Lizzo In Harassment Lawsuit
While speaking with Keke Palmer, Lizzo admitted that the sexual harassment allegations is what hurt her the most. “When you think about what the media put as a headline, when you see sexual harassment/assault, when you see all of those things it’s like woah it’s very shocking but when you read the claims in the actual lawsuit it’s ridiculous they’re very silly claims.”
In the interview, Lizzo said she “needed time to process” what is happening. “I was literally living in my dream, and then the tour ended, and three ex-dancers just completely, like, blindsided me with a lawsuit,” she told Keke, 31. Lizzo claims she was “completely surprised” by the allegations.
“I was very deeply hurt because these were three ex-dancers, so they weren’t on the tour. They didn’t, like, finish the tour out with us. But even regardless of that, these were people that I gave opportunities to,” she added.
“These were people that — I liked them and appreciated them as dancers, respected them as dancers. So I was like, what? But then I heard all the other things like sexual harassment, and I was like, they’re trying well, I don’t know what they’re trying to do, but these are the types of things that the media can turn into something that it’s not.”
As we previously shared, when the news broke Lizzo shared a statement to her Instagram where she denied all of the claims.
“My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned,” she wrote in part. “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 not to be addressed.”
She added, “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.”
