Former dancer claims Lizzo terminated contract after saying 'dancers get fired for gaining weight’
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Joseph Okpako/WireImag/Getty / Kate Green/Getty Images
One of Lizzo's former dancers has claimed the singer terminated her contract after saying she could ‘get fired for gaining weight’.
Lizzo, known for promoting body positivity and confidence, has been sued by three of her former dancers this week - Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez.
The 'About Damn Time' singer recently released a statement describing the allegations as 'false' and 'unbelievable'.
The trio claim they were subject to sexual, religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault and false imprisonment, among other allegations.
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Rodriguez resigned over the alleged 'appalling behaviour', while Davis and Williams were fired from their positions, their lawyer has said.
Part of the lawsuit details a trip to Amsterdam’s red light district, in February 2023, in which performers were allegedly pressured to come along on nights out through fear of losing their jobs.
One visit to a club named Bananenbar allegedly resulted in performers being encouraged to touch nude performers by Lizzo.
Davis has accused Lizzo of calling her into a private meeting and expressing 'thinly veiled concerns about [her] weight gain'.
According to the lawsuit, Lizzo later berated her and fired her 'on the spot' after she recorded a meeting because of a health condition.
Davis told CBS: "It was never ‘You’re getting fat, you’re getting fired’. It was never blatant, it was very nuanced.
"She stated in one of the meetings that we had – she was basically saying how grateful we should be that she knows our names and she gives us the time of day and was also saying you should be grateful because dancers get fired for gaining weight.
"And she looked at me, and I don’t know if she remembers that she looked at me, but it always felt like that."
On Thursday (3 August), Lizzo released a statement where she addressed the allegations made in the lawsuit.
She went on to describe the allegations made against her as 'false', adding: "These are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed."
“These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behaviour on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional," she continued.
"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."