‘I’m not a villain’: Lizzo responds to harassment claims, dancers reject her statement

Pop singer Lizzo has been mired in a huge controversy since a few days ago when a suit filed by her former dancers accused her of bullying, sexual harassment and body shaming. The three dancers detailed their experience of being fired after being accused of gaining weight, unprofessional working environments as well as being pressurised into controversial activities.

In a statement released on her social media accounts, the Grammy award winning singer has responded to the suit, calling the stories “sensationalised”, adding that the former employees had already admitted their behavior on tour was unprofessional:

“These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”

‘I am not here to be looked at as a victim but I also know I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be the last few days…There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.”

READ MORE: Lizzo sued after three former dancers accuse her of sexual harassment, unprofessional behavior

The statement was slammed by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez who spoke to UK’s Channel 4 about the 44 page lawsuit they filed against the ‘Good as hell’ singer, and her dance captain Shirlene Quigley.

“Initially for me, it just further deepened my disappointment in regards to how I was feeling and how I was treated,” Williams said. “I think the overall theme in all this is that our experiences were our experiences and our traumas were our traumas. In bringing that forward, it feels like it was disregarded completely. It feels like we were made out to be putting out false allegations when that’s not the case.”

“So yes, it was very disheartening to read and feel overlooked especially when she stands for what she stands for in regards to women’s empowerment – being an advocate for mental health, being an advocate for body positivity – and to just further prove that that’s not the case, because nothing was acknowledged in that statement,” the former dancer further added.

Speaking to CBS News, Davis elaborated on the Amsterdam accident, when Lizzo had taken the backup dancers to a strip club and pressurised Angela to grope the nude dancer, then forced a security guard member to go on stage and strip. She described the situation as ‘mortifying’:

“I did not ask for it. I said no multiple times,” Davis said.

After facing intense pressure from Lizzo, she “briefly touched” the performer. “I was very, very mortified, everyone burst into laughter,” she recalled.

In the lawsuit, it was also mentioned that Lizzo body-shamed the dancers, firing one of them after commenting that she seemed “less committed” about the role.

Arianna told NBC that the fatphobia comments weren’t spoken directly, but underlined every criticism she was given:

“It was very nuanced and very underlying underneath all the other issues that were going on,” Davis explained. “I just had this feeling that they had a problem with the way I was gaining weight and looking different and that I wasn’t ‘the same’ as when they first cast me.”

Attorney Neama Rahmani, who is representing Davis, Williams and Rodriguez in the lawsuit, addressed Lizzo’s statement and said the case will be moved to trial to prove whether what the pop singer is saying is true:

“Given Lizzo is denying that any of this happened, let’s take it to trial. More witnesses are coming forward every day corroborating the plaintiffs’ allegations, so we’re looking forward to facing Lizzo and her team in court.”

Lizzo’s lawyer representing her at the trial is Marty Singer, whose previous clients include Johnny Depp, Charlie Sheen, Chris Brown and Jonah Hill.