Lizzo Asks Court to Dismiss Sexual Harassment Suit Filed by Former Dancers

Lizzo's attorneys are asking a judge to dismiss the major sexual harassment lawsuit three of her former dancers filed in July, claiming that the trio are "opportunists" looking for "a quick payday."

On Friday, the pop singer's legal team filed a motion to dismiss in a Los Angeles court, which has been reviewed by The Messenger. The three former employees, who toured and worked with Lizzo, claim they faced sexual harassment and discrimination.

In the new filing, the Watch Out for the Big Grrrls host's attorneys allege that the three women have "an axe to grind" and have shown "a pattern of gross misconduct and failure to perform their job up to par."

"Plaintiffs embarked on a press tour, vilifying defendants and pushing their fabricated sob story in the courts and in the media. That ends today," Lizzo's attorney Martin D. Singer wrote in the filing, obtained by Billboard. "Instead of taking any accountability for their own actions, plaintiffs filed this lawsuit against defendants out of spite and in pursuit of media attention, public sympathy and a quick payday with minimal effort."

The motion to dismiss argued that the case should be considered under an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) statute. Anti-SLAPP suits are typically aimed at dismissing meritless lawsuits brought by typically powerful individuals or companies meant to stop negative publicity. These laws can be used to dismiss unfounded defamation cases, but Lizzo's attorneys argue that they apply to the sexual harassment case due to the creative nature of the singer's work.

"The complaint — and plaintiffs' carefully choreographed media blitz surrounding its filing — is a brazen attempt to silence defendants' creative voices and weaponize their creative expression against them," the filing notes.

Additionally, Lizzo's team brought forth sworn statements from as many as 18 crew members who say several of the accusations brought forward by the three women are unfounded.

In one statement obtained by The Messenger, tour manager Carlina Gugliotta denies previous allegations that one former dancer, Crystal Williams, was let go from the tour in a discriminatory manner.

"The decision to terminate Williams was based on budget constraints requiring us to cut down the number of dancers from 10 to nine, as well as the fact that she was late for rehearsals and other call times and missed her flight to Knoxville, Tenn.," the manager stated in the filing. "Contrary to the allegations in the Complaint, I did not inform Williams that she was being let go in front of everyone."

Another dancer reportedly spoke out against Arianna Davis' accusations of body-shaming aimed at Lizzo and choreographer Tanisha Scott.

"I never saw anyone, including Plaintiffs, being weight shamed or body shamed," one dancer wrote, via Billboard. "Far from it. Lizzo inspired all of us to celebrate and love ourselves and our bodies as we are."

Another allegation included in the original suit claims that the "Truth Hurts" singer coerced dancers into attending a sexually explicit show at a club in Amsterdam's Red Light District. They claim at Bananenbar, she allegedly pressured them to mimic sex acts and touch one performer's breasts.

However, Gugliotta claims she did not experience any punishment for not wanting to engage with the performers and there were no "adverse employment consequences."

"Lizzo did not make a big deal out of it, get angry with me for not interacting with the Bananenbar performers or punish (let alone fire me) for my decision not to do so," she wrote. "I recall that there were members of the dance team who did not go to Bananenbar and/or were not there when Gordon and I were."

The Messenger has reached out to Lizzo's attorneys for comment.