Lizzo’s lawyer, Marty Singer, is firing back at one of the musician’s former dancers accusing her of creating a hostile work environment.
Singer made his comments after TMZ obtained a video of Arianna Davis — who is one of three women who filed a lawsuit against Lizzo, 35, on Tuesday, August 1 — praising the “Truth Hurts” singer during an audition for season 2 of her show, Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.
According to the outlet, the audition tape — in which Davis stated that she “look[s] up to [Lizzo] so much” and wants to “follow in her footsteps” — was filmed in April, after the alleged incidents described in the suit took place.
“These do not sound like the words of someone who was harassed or discriminated against by someone they described as ‘THE QUEEN,’” Singer told TMZ on Thursday, August 3. “They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and here a video shows that there are no legitimate claims in this lawsuit. We are confident that Lizzo will be completely vindicated in this matter.”
Davis reacted to her audition tape resurfacing via a statement to Us Weekly. “Of course, I wasn’t going to say anything negative about the camp while I was still in it. Right up until the last minute, I didn’t realize how bad it was and how much I was being taken advantage of. I just genuinely wanted to save my job,” her statement began. “This video further explains how much I was trying to please Lizzo. But it was such a toxic work environment because throughout all the abuse, I was still trying to please her and make her think that I was good enough. This video was done before the bulk of our allegations occurred, and this was just me grasping at straws and my last attempt to make her see how committed I was to being loyal to her and her camp.”
After the clip began circulating on Twitter, some social media users also came to Davis’ defense.
“Does not sit right with me how her team is now dropping stuff like this to try and vilify the victims. Save it for the courtroom. This proves nothing except that, just like everyone else, she still needed a job to pay her bills,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another chimed in: “This doesn’t prove anything 🤣. She was faking it for a bag 🤣. This is what her lawyers came up with??? OH it’s bad for Lizzo😭.”
Lizzo, for her part, broke her silence about the allegations — which include religious harassment, disability discrimination and sexual harassment — on Thursday. “These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized,” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram statement, calling the lawsuit’s claims “false” and “too outrageous not to be addressed.”
She continued: “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 that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days. … I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and I would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.”
After the “About Damn Time” musician shared her statement, Ron Zambrano — the attorney representing Lizzo’s former dancers Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez — reacted via a statement to Us.
“Lizzo has failed her own brand and has let down her fans. Her denial of this reprehensible behavior only adds to our clients’ emotional distress,” Zambrano’s statement began. “The dismissive comments and utter lack of empathy are quite telling about her character and only serve to minimize the trauma she has caused the plaintiffs and other employees who have now come forward sharing their own negative experiences. While Lizzo notes it was never her intention ‘to make anyone feel uncomfortable,’ that is exactly what she did to the point of demoralizing her dancers and flagrantly violating the law.”
In addition to Lizzo, the suit also names the Grammy winner’s tour company Big Grrrrl Big Touring, Inc. (BGBT) and dance captain Shirlene Quigley.
