Three former dancers for Lizzo have filed a lawsuit accusing her of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, NBC News reports. The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, and NBC, who viewed it, says it accuses Lizzo of “calling attention to one dancer’s weight gain and later berating, then firing, that dancer after she recorded a meeting because of a health condition.” The suit also accuses Shirlene Quigley, the captain of 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.” The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Ron Zambrano, told NBC they believed Lizzo was aware of these issues with Quigley.
“The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing,” a statement from Zambrano reads.
The suit also accuses Lizzo of pressuring one of the dancers to touch a nude performer at a club in Amsterman. “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,” the suit reads.
Two dancers also say in the suit that they were fired by Lizzo after being falsely accused of drinking on the job, and being subjected to an “excruciating” 12-hour audition.
Representatives for Lizzo and Quigley did not respond to NBC‘s request for comment. Lizzo’s Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. production company, who is also named as a defendant in the suit, could not be reached by NBC.
