Lizzo caught up in lawsuit; alleged sexual harassment

Question

This NPR article claims that popular pop and R&B singer, Lizzo, is being accused of sexual harassment and maintaining a toxic work environment on tours and during performances for her dancers: https://www.npr.org/2023/08/02/1191675195/former-dancers-accuse-lizzo-harassment-creating-hostile-work-environment

Comments

This is True. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/us/lizzo-dancers-lawsuit-harassment.html
According to the NYT article, three dancers who previously worked on Lizzo's last tour filed a complaint alleging that Lizzo and her team captain produced a toxic and hyper-sexualized work atmosphere. The pop artist recently replied to the lawsuit's accusations, calling them "as unbelievable as they sound."

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This is in fact true.

According to NBC News, Lizzo weight-shamed, and sexually harassed four dancers. As stated in the lawsuit, "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." Dancer Arianna Davis was also pressured to touch a nude performer at an Amsterdam club.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lizzo-dancers-weight-shamed-pressured-touch-nude-performer-lawsuit-rcna95161

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@courtcheese and @svallapareddy, going forward, it's better to add your fact-check rather than comment on the claim. You'll then be able to have your claim be upvoted and chosen as the best answer. Thanks!

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Good answer! I appreciate you citing the article and describing what is happening with an actual lawsuit, as well as Lizzo's reaction to the lawsuit as well. It provides a more well rounded idea of what is going on here.

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I have heard quite a bit on this issue. There is multiple different accusers. I think you also did a great job mentioning which sources were used and from the ones you mentioned they all seem to be reputable

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I have heard about this, and I think you answered it very well. I like your evidence from the lawsuit directly, and as unfortunate as it is I think you did a good job explaining what had happened.

Answer 1

This is true. I found the official court documents of the lawsuit from the state of California. 

Here is a quote from the official document, 

10. This case centers on three professional dancers’ experiences working for Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “BGBT”) and Melissa Viviane Jefferson (professionally known, and hereinafter referred to as “LIZZO”). Throughout their employment, Plaintiffs Arianna DAVIS (hereinafter referred to as “Ms. DAVIS”), Crystal WILLIAMS (hereinafter referred to as “Ms. WILLIAMS”), and Noelle RODRIGUEZ (hereinafter referred to as “Ms. RODRIGUEZ”; Ms. DAVIS, Ms. WILLIAMS, and Ms. RODRIGUEZ collectively referred to as “Plaintiffs”) were subjected to a host of violations of California statutory and decisional law.

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Lizzo-harassment-suit.pdf 

Comments

This is an excellent fact check; having the court documents leaves little room for false allegations. I do, however, wish that there was more background information. Yet this was really well done.

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Thank you for providing supporting documents to your answer, it was really helpful to verify the claims.

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I thought the evidence you provided was good and legit. But I would have liked it if you could have expanded more in your own words. Maybe explain the quote from the official document?

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Nice job getting right to the source. Legal court documents can often be the best sources to verify criminalities. The onl thing I would add is one more source from an article ti make your fact-check easier to comprehend and to ensure there are multiple sources other than one confriming this

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Phenomenal job presenting the actual court evidence within the lawsuit, it leaves little room for misinterpretation amongst us.

Answer 2

This is true. According to this article from The New York Times, three dancers who previously worked on Lizzo's last tour filed a lawsuit claiming that Lizzo and her team captain fostered a hostile and hyper-sexualized work environment. The pop singer responded to the lawsuit’s claims recently, stating they are “as unbelievable as they sound." (McCarthy, 2023). 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/us/lizzo-dancers-lawsuit-harassment.html

Comments

Great answer, I loved the way you worded everything!

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I like how you jumped straight to the point, I think you did a great job stating numbers and what happened. It would have been nice if you would have gotten a couple more sources to back you up but you did a great point jumping into what happened

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This is a very helpful answer. It's worded wonderfully and offers an alternative sources to help their claim.

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The New York Times is a great, really reliable source. I would even go a step further to look into court documents online and see if you can find evidence directly from the state government.

Answer 3

This NBC article reports that three of Lizzo's former dancers have filed a lawsuit accusing her of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. The dancers accused Lizzo of pointing out a dancer's weight gain and ultimately firing them. Lizzo has responded to the allegations expressing that she feels hurt and dubs them false.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lizzo-dancers-weight-shamed-pressured-touch-nude-performer-lawsuit-rcna95161

Comments

I think this is better than the website I found

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Good source! NBC news is reliable.

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I agree with you that the original statement is true. Based on the information and research that you have provided, I was able to check the validity of it. Everything you have claimed seems to align with what I found. Good job!

Answer 4

This is true, and moreover, she is denying the claims, meaning this will likely be taken to court.

According to this People magazine article, the plaintiffs' lawyer claims that the women raising the allegations were treated this way over a long period of time. Here's what the article said: 

• Speaking with PEOPLE via phone Tuesday, attorney Ronald Zambrano — who represents the plaintiffs —claims the women were traumatized up to the last day they were employed by the four-time Grammy winning singer in the spring of 2023. Shortly after, they sought his counsel. 
• "The theme that I'm hearing is that there's an external persona that Lizzo presents, inclusivity and come as you are, but in private, it was very different," says Zambrano. "And that's what came across to me in talking to these young ladies. Lizzo was very different privately."

https://people.com/lizzo-former-dancers-scared-of-her-by-end-of-tour-says-lawyer-exclusive-7568610

Not misinformation.

Comments

These are strong quotes that support your fact check. Great job.

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I like that you used names it boosts credentials as it shows who said what.

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i agree with your statement and appreciate that you provided direct quotes to back up you claim making it seem a lot more reliable and easier to not question.

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These are some good supporting quotes to verify the claim, I do wonder if you have a quote or a specific source in which stated that Lizzo is denying these claims?

Answer 5

It is true that Lizzo is being sued because of these accusations. Three of Lizzo's former dancers filed a complaint on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Along with sexual harassment and maintaining a toxic work environment, Lizzo and her production company are being accused of racial and religious discrimination. Lizzo released a statement on Thursday addressing the accusations saying she is, "not the villain that people in the media have portrayed me to be."

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/03/entertainment/lizzo-lawsuit-response/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/01/entertainment/lizzo-sued-by-dancers/index.html

Comments

I really appreciate the addition of Lizzo's statement on the matter! It never hurts to try and get every side to a story like this one.

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You gave a strong answer here, I am curious as to where you found these quotes/information, and/or if you were able to find any other direct quotes to support this further! I like that you added Lizzo's opinion in there as well.

Answer 6

As of right now, Lizzo has denied the claims that have been made against her through her social media post where she tells her followers and fans that the last few days have been difficult for her because of the claims and the accusations made by the media and her former dance employees commenting on the matter. In her statement, she clarifies that she never wants to put anyone down or make them feel uncomfortable, especially for their weight. 

Lizzo breaks silence on ‘false' and ‘outrageous' lawsuit allegations

Comments

i like how you mentioned lizzo denying. there are always 2 sides

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Personally, I think that Lizzo denying the claims may receive backlash. Great job including that part though.

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There is always two sides to the story and this is Lizzo trying to deny the entire situation.

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This is an interesting perspective on this claim. However, I think it is important to address more than one source for each claim. Only having one source to support this perspective makes me weary of the accuracy of this perspective.

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This is a good viewpoint from Lizzo. I am sure having these accusations are hard, but there are two sides. It would be helpful to see some points from the court and the dancers.
It would be helpful to do some deeper investigations in more reliable and non-biased sources.
https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Lizzo-harassment-suit.pdf
This website discusses the issue directly and shares all the facts of the lawsuit.

Answer 7

This is true. There are three plaintiffs, all previously worked with lizzo, all filed as an individual. The documents of the suit are linked below. The names of the plaintiffs and their complaints are on the first page. Including sexual harassment and  hostile work environment. 

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Lizzo-harassment-suit.pdf

Answer 8

True, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lizzo-dancers-weight-shamed-pressured-touch-nude-performer-lawsuit-rcna95161

According to nbc news, Lizzo has been accused of many different things by three former dancers. The three women accused Lizzo's work environment to be terrible and very sexualized. Lizzo denied the accusations calling them "unbelievable." 

"Lizzo’s dance team of proselytizing to other performers and deriding those who had premarital sex while sharing lewd sexual fantasies, simulating oral sex and publicly discussing the virginity of one of the plaintiffs."

Answer 9

This is true. I found the official court documents online and this was taken from page 5/44:

"Throughout their employment, Plaintiffs Arianna DAVIS (hereinafter referred to as “Ms. DAVIS”), Crystal WILLIAMS (hereinafter referred to as “Ms. WILLIAMS”), and Noelle RODRIGUEZ (hereinafter referred to as “Ms. RODRIGUEZ”; Ms. DAVIS, Ms. WILLIAMS, and Ms. RODRIGUEZ collectively referred to as “Plaintiffs”) were subjected to a host of violations of California statutory and decisional law".

Her former backup dancers are indeed suing her for possible sexual harassment they experienced in their work environment.

https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Lizzo-harassment-suit.pdf

Answer 10

This is in fact true.

According to NBC News, Lizzo weight-shamed, and sexually harassed four dancers. As stated in the lawsuit, "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." Dancer Arianna Davis was also pressured to touch a nude performer at an Amsterdam club.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lizzo-dancers-weight-shamed-pressured-touch-nude-performer-lawsuit-rcna95161

Comments

The last sentence was something that I had not found in any reading I found. Nice job.

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I had seen various statements online about the Amsterdam club but wasn't able to track down a reliable source. Thanks for including that!

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This is a solid fact check. Providing names of people invloved, along with their quotes, makes it muvh more credible and safe to believe. I also think that NBC is a credible source and believe that the story is reliable coming from them