LOS ANGELES – Three former dancers from the American singer Lizzo’s team sued the interpreter and her company for allegedly sexually harassing them and for creating a “hostile work environment” between 2021 and 2023.
The complaint was filed this Tuesday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court against Melissa Viviane Jefferson (Lizzo), the producer she leads -Big Grrrl Touring, Inc.- and the captain of the dance team Shirlene Quigley, reported national media.
The document was signed by the dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodríguez, who performed with Lizzo at festivals and concerts from September 2021 to April 2022 -during “The Special Tour”- and continued as part of the cast on the European tour this year.
The women alleged that the singer – who has repeatedly positioned herself in favor of respecting body diversity – made comments about one of them’s weight gain and added that they experienced other episodes of sexual, religious and racial harassment during their stay at the company. .
In addition, Quigley is accused of trying to convert team members to his religion and making derisive and uncomfortable comments about those who had sex before marriage.
It was also noted that the captain openly questioned the virginity of one of the plaintiffs during the recording of the reality show “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls”, led by Lizzo, of which the litigants were part.
Likewise, Arianna Davis described that during her time in Amsterdam on this year’s European tour, two of the plaintiffs went out to a party with Lizzo and the team in the well-known red light district, where they went to a “striptease” club where she was pressured. to touch the breasts of one of the dancers against her will.
Other of the exposed accusations were related to disagreements with part of the company’s management team after they were asked to advance certain payments and that their responses were loaded with “racial animosity and fatphobia.”
The lawsuit also states that Davis was fired for recording a meeting in which Lizzo gave instructions to her dancers, while Williams was not fired, citing budget cuts that did not affect other professionals. Rodríguez, for his part, resigned in an act of solidarity with Davis and Williams.
