Lizzo Accused of Assault, Weight-Shaming in Lawsuit from 3 Former Dancers

In a new lawsuit filed by three of her former dancers, Lizzo is being accused of sexual harassment, assault, false imprisonment and more.

The Grammy-winning singer, her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc., and her dance captain Shirlene Quigley were named in the complaint, which was filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County on July 18, per court docs and a press release shared with The Messenger. NBC News was first to report the lawsuit.

Lizzo's attorneys, reps and BGBT did not immediately respond to The Messenger's request for comment. The Messenger has also reached out to Quigley for comment.

Two of the plaintiffs, Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams, first met Lizzo in March 2021 while competing on her Emmy-winning Prime Video reality series, Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, to join her on her international Special Tour in 2022. The series of concerts was in support of Lizzo's fourth studio album of the same name.

The two accusers later met Quigley when filming for the series began that August.

The Messenger reached out to Amazon Prime for comment.

The third accuser, Noelle Rodriguez, met Lizzo in May 2021. She was initially hired to appear in Lizzo's "Rumors" video and stayed on the team afterwards.

"Ms. Quigley was not only vocal about her religious belief but took every opportunity to proselytize to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations," the complaint alleges, adding: "Ms. Quigley discovered that Ms. Davis was a virgin and Ms. Davis' virginity became a topic of extreme importance to Ms. Quigley."

It continues, "In the months to follow, Ms. Quigley would routinely bring up Ms. Davis' virginity in conversations with Ms. Davis. Ms. Quigley even mentioned Ms. Davis' virginity in interviews she participated in and later posted to social media, broadcasting an intensely personal detail about Ms. Davis to the world."

The lawsuit also claims Davis reluctantly participated in a mandated nude photoshoot out of fear she would be sent home if she refused.

"Ms. Davis broke down in tears on set while struggling to choose between a once in a lifetime career opportunity and putting her body on display against her will," the lawsuit states. "This experience foreshadowed the sexually charged and uncomfortable environment Lizzo's employees would be forced to endure."

Once Davis and Williams were chosen to join Lizzo's dance troop, Quigley's remarks about her religious beliefs and sexuality continued, the complaint alleges. Quigley often vocalized her Christian beliefs and allegedly condemned pre-marital sex while detailing her experience with masturbation and intimate moments she shared with her husband.

The lawsuit states that Quigley "kept tabs on Davis' virginity" and often called out Rodriguez as a "non-believer." The plaintiffs say their complaints about Quigley's alleged remarks fell on deaf ears.

After the domestic leg of the tour ended in November, the three plaintiffs tried to find other gigs until the European leg began in February. They claim they weren't paid during the tour's hiatus.

Lizzo and her touring company allegedly looked down on the dancers taking other jobs, so they asked to be paid during the tour's break and found out that other performers had been paid 50 percent of their weekly income. Per the complaint, the plaintiffs were given 25 percent and allegedly reprimanded for "unacceptable and disrespectful behavior while on tour."

Things worsened when the plaintiffs returned to the stage with Lizzo for a show in Amsterdam on Feb. 23, 2023. The singer allegedly invited them to go to the Red Light District, which is "known for its abundance of sex theaters, sex shops, and clubs and bars where nudity is on full display," according to the complaint.

Though taking part in the night out wasn't mandated, the plaintiffs said they went because they didn't want to be fired.

"The main event of the night was a club called Bananenbar, where patrons are allowed to interact with completely nude performers," according to the lawsuit. "While at Bananenbar, things quickly got out of hand. Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers' vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers' vaginas. 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. 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."

Despite her concerns, Davis gave in in an effort to avoid retaliation. Hours later, Lizzo allegedly pressured one of her security guards to perform on stage and pulled down his pants. The lawsuit accuses her of hitting him with whips and instructing him, "Take it off!"

"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 complaint states.

Similar activity allegedly took place after Lizzo's performance in Paris. That time, the "Juice" singer allegedly told them they were going to Crazy Horse so they "learn something or be inspired." She allegedly left out the fact that the performers would be naked.

"Plaintiffs were shocked that Lizzo would conceal the nature of the event from them, robbing them of the choice not to participate," according to the lawsuit.

The tour hit the U.S. on April 4 and BGBT agreed to pay the 50 percent retainer. However, at that point, BGBT had begun to "lash out" at the dancers, particularly the Black members, per the lawsuit.

"Specifically, BGBT management treated the Black members of the dance team differently than other members. BGBT's management team consisted entirely of white Europeans who often accused the Black members of the dance team of being lazy, unprofessional, and having bad attitudes," according to the lawsuit. "Not only do these words ring familiar as tropes used to disparage and discourage Black women from advocating for themselves, but the same accusations were not levied against dancers who are not Black."

The complaint reiterates, "Only the dance cast - comprised of full-figured women of color - were ever spoken to in this manner, giving Plaintiffs the impression that these comments were charged with racial and fat-phobic animus."

The plaintiffs also accuse Lizzo and choreographer Tanisha Scott of calling out Davis.

“Lizzo and Ms. Scott questioned whether Ms. Davis was struggling with something as she seemed less committed to her role on the dance cast. Lizzo and Ms. Scott pressed Ms. Davis for an explanation why she seemed less bubbly and vivacious than she did prior to the tour starting. In professional dance, a dancer's weight gain is often seen as that dancer getting lazy or worse off as a performer," the lawsuit states. "Lizzo's and Ms. Scott's questions about Ms. Davis' commitment to the tour were thinly veiled concerns about Ms. Davis' weight gain, which Lizzo had previously called attention to after noticing it at the South by Southwest music festival."

It continues, "Although Lizzo and Ms. Scott never explicitly stated it, these questions accompanied by Lizzo's statements made after the South by Southwest music festival gave Ms. Davis the impression that she needed to explain her weight gain and disclose intimate personal details about her life in order to keep her job."

Williams was fired a week later, and told it was due to budget cuts. Davis was then fired on May 3 after she recorded an emergency wardrobe fitting, where phones were not allowed, between Lizzo and the dancers.

Rodriguez then resigned seeing how Davis and Williams were allegedly treated.

"Lizzo aggressively approached Ms. Rodriquez, cracking her knuckles, balling her fists, and exclaiming, 'You're lucky. You're so f---ing lucky!'" per the complaint. "Ms. Rodriguez feared that Lizzo intended to hit her and would have done so if one of the other dancers had not intervened."

The complaint further notes, "Neither security nor management did anything to de-escalate the situation. As Lizzo left the room, she raised both her middle fingers and yelled, 'Bye, bitch!'"

At the same time, Davis was allegedly "detained in the room where the meeting had taken place by a member of Lizzo's security detail. Ms. Davis was scared and wanted nothing more than to leave the area."

The Messenger has also reached out to Lizzo's label Atlantic Records.

"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," the attorney for the plaintiffs, Ron Zambrano, a partner and Employment Litigation Chair at West Coast Employment Lawyers, said in the release.

The plaintiffs are suing for claims of a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, religious harassment, racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault and false imprisonment.

The amount they're suing for is unclear and they are requesting a jury trial.

Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls is currently available to stream on Prime Video, with a second season coming soon.