“The hardest part about all this is that none of these things were true,” she said. “I was completely surprised. I was very deeply hurt.”
Pop singer Lizzo denied sexual harassment allegations in a recent interview with Variety, saying none of the claims made by former dancers were true. The Grammy winner is finally speaking out after a federal judge dismissed one of the lawsuits filed in September of last year. Lizzo was accused by several employees of harassment, including three former backup dancers and her former stylist, Asha Daniels, whose lawsuit was dismissed after the judge ruled it lacked legal authority to sue Lizzo, Variety reported.
"It's a big victory," Lizzo told singer Keke Palmer on a recent episode of the "Baby, This Is Keke Palmer" podcast. "We're continuing to fight the other claims until they're all dismissed—not dropped, but dismissed."
Daniels' lawsuit accused Lizzo of subjecting her to sexual and racial harassment by members of the singer's management team. Additionally, she claimed that Lizzo created a hostile work environment and did not receive overtime compensation for the hours she worked. In the lawsuit filed by the three dancers, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez, Lizzo was accused of sexual harassment, fostering a hostile work environment, assault, false imprisonment, and disability discrimination.
"The hardest part about all this is that none of these things were true," she said. "I was completely surprised. I was very deeply hurt because these were three dancers...that I gave opportunities to. These were people that I liked and appreciated as dancers, respected them as dancers. So, I was like, 'What?!' But then I heard all the other things, like sexual harassment, and I was like, 'I don't know what they're trying to do,' but these are the types of things that the media can turn into something that it's not."
The dancers claimed in the suit that they were compelled to touch nude dancers during a live sex performance in Amsterdam's Red Light District, citing fear of losing their jobs if they chose otherwise. Davis alleged that Lizzo invited tour dancers to engage in activities such as capturing sex toys launched from the performers' vaginas, eating bananas out of the performers' vaginas, and touching the nude performers at a nude bar named the Bananenbar.
"Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club," the lawsuit stated. "Lizzo began leading a chant goading Ms. Davis. Ms. Davis said three times, loud enough for all to hear, 'I'm good,' expressing her desire not to touch the performer."
Palmer asked Lizzo, "Do you feel looking back on the situation that maybe your casual personality could have been misconstrued as 'I gotta do this because this is my boss?'"
"I don't think that people who I employ should even be privy to how I am in a bar at this point," Lizzo responded. "I think that this experience taught me healthy boundaries, but to be real with you, it was such a fun night...I think there's a time where there's a difference between having boundaries and professional boundaries...It's nuanced. It's a new conversation in this industry."
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