Lizzo’s former backup dancers allege she ‘contradicts every part she stands for behind the scenes’

Aug 02, 2023 at 11:35 PM
Lizzo’s former backup dancers allege she ‘contradicts every part she stands for behind the scenes’

One of Lizzo’s former backup dancers who has filed a lawsuit in opposition to the singer has stated she is “contradicting everything she stands for behind the scenes”.

The trio of dancers declare the singer pressured one in all them into touching a nude performer at an Amsterdam membership, in addition to falsely accusing them of consuming on the job.

The lawsuit additionally accuses the captain of Lizzo’s dance crew, Shirlene Quigley, of making an attempt to transform the performers’ non secular beliefs and deriding those that had premarital intercourse, and likewise sharing lewd sexual fantasies and publicly discussing the virginity of one of many complainants.

Two of the performers, Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams, started performing with Lizzo after competing on her Amazon actuality present “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” in 2021 however have been each later fired.

The third, Noelle Rodriguez, was employed in the identical yr after performing within the video “Rumours” however resigned earlier this yr.

Lizzo, whose actual title is Melissa Jefferson, is understood for embracing body positivity, however Ms Davis claims the star made feedback about her placing on weight earlier than firing her.

She instructed CBS News when she expressed she was “proud” of herself for her work on the tour, Lizzo stated she was “worried” about her at one level as a result of Ms Davis had placed on weight.

“I believe she was trying to allude to the fact that I was gaining weight in a way that she wouldn’t get cancelled, if that makes sense,” Ms Davis stated.

“It was not a like, ‘you’re fat, you’re fired.’ It was never ‘you’re gaining too much weight,’ it was never blatant, it was very nuanced.”

Ms Davis claims Lizzo instructed the dancers they need to be grateful as a result of dancers would sometimes get fired in the event that they gained weight.

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Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

‘She’s contradicting every part she stands for behind the scenes’

Ms Williams stated Lizzo’s message of physique positivity and equality for various races and genders made it her “absolute dream job”.

“We had this high start, and then over time, as reality kind of sets in and you’re seeing that everything is not the way it seems, that there’s a lot of things that go on behind the scenes, your ideas of things quickly start to shift,” she instructed CBS News.

“Everything that she stands for as an artist is a big reason as to why I think people stand behind her as much as they do.

“To me, I simply could not sit with the truth that this was taking place behind the scenes, and it is a large a part of her fan base, however she’s sort of contradicting every part she stands for behind the scenes.”

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

‘Pressured into touching a nude performer’

The dancers stated Lizzo and Ms Quigley pressured them into going to a present in Amsterdam’s purple mild district, with Ms Davis saying she and Ms Rodriguez have been pressured into touching a nude performer.

Ms Davis stated she tried to disregard what was happening however Lizzo singled her out, chanted her title and pressured her to the touch the performer despite the fact that she stated no a number of occasions.

“She was kind of going around, inviting people to touch the nude performers. And I guess it was my turn,” Ms Davis stated.

She added: “I briefly touched (the performer), and everyone started laughing. It was funny to them, because me, of all people, they see me as a very modest person. Me touching a nude person was hilarious to them.”

She stated she was “mortified”.

‘Falsely accused of consuming earlier than reveals’

The dancers additionally stated they have been falsely accused of consuming earlier than reveals, telling CBS News that “was never the case”.

“In fact, alcohol was never even allowed in our dressing room or on our rider, which is the food and drinks provided to us. So, it was physically impossible for us to do that,” Ms Davis stated.

“But we were the ones that were blamed for drinking on the job. It was stated to us, by Lizzo, she was like, ‘It doesn’t matter if I am doing it, doesn’t matter if the band, or anyone else is doing it, you guys can’t do it.'”

They stated they denied the accusations to Lizzo however Ms Davis and Ms Williams have been quickly let go from their jobs.

Lizzo is but to remark publicly on the allegations.