Lizzo was “completely blindsided” by sexual harassment lawsuit: “I did nothing wrong”

Lizzo has broken her silence on the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against her in 2023, saying she “did nothing wrong”.

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The singer was sued by three former dancers back in August 2023, who claimed they’d been subject to sexual harassment and a hostile workplace environment while on tour. Lizzo denied the claims and said that the situation had left her contemplating quitting the music industry.

A ruling in January saw a judge dismiss some elements of the case, but allow it to proceed, with a status conference is set to take place in January.

Now, Lizzo has opened up about the lawsuit in a new interview on the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast.

She told Palmer she had “needed time to process” in 2023 following her first arena tour. “I was literally living in my dream, and then the tour ended, and three ex-dancers just completely, like, blindsided me with a lawsuit,” she said, adding that she was “completely surprised” by the complaint.

“I was very deeply hurt because these were three ex-dancers, so they weren’t on the tour. They didn’t, like, finish the tour out with us. But even regardless of that, these were people that I gave opportunities to,” she added.

“These were people that, I liked them and appreciated them 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, they’re trying well, 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,” she continued.

Lizzo went on to say that she was most upset by the allegations of sexual harassment, but dismissed many of the claims as “silly”. She then said she has “no regrets” but will keep the experience in mind going forward: “Let’s be clear, I did nothing wrong.”

At the time, Lizzo addressed the allegations on Instagram writing on August 3: “My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned,” adding: “My character has been criticised. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to be addressed.”

She went on to say: “I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not.”

During the podcast interview, she also addressed her recent dismissal from a lawsuit filed by a stylist, who claimed the singer subjected her to a hostile work environment during their 2023 tour of Europe.

Asha Daniels first filed the lawsuit against Lizzo in September last year, alleging that the environment subjected her to disability discrimination, sexual harassment and “racist and fatphobic comments”. Daniels also claimed that she suffered physical injuries after a wardrobe manager pushed her and rolled a “heavy clothing rack” over her foot.

According to Rolling Stone, District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha said that Lizzo cannot be sued as an individual after identifying the singer’s touring and payroll companies as her employers. All seven causes of action have been dismissed and Daniels has been told she cannot try to sue again.

The outlet also reports that the singer’s tour manager, Carlina Gugliotta, was cut loose from the lawsuit although Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. remains a defendant.

Lizzo told Palmer she was “dismissed” from the Daniels lawsuit and that the case was “not dropped.”

“A judge saw this, and in the court of law, he looked at the evidence and said, ‘OK. We can’t allow this to go through,’” she said, though Daniels’ lawyer Ron Zambrano has clarified to People Magazine that Lizzo’s explanation of the ruling is incorrect.

“The lawsuit is still very active and has not been dismissed. The ruling was not for lack of evidence, but rather on procedural jurisdictional grounds. It by no means absolves Lizzo of the egregious claims that occurred on her watch,” he said in a statement to the publication.

He continued: “All individually named defendants were dismissed because of the jurisdictional limits of Title VII and FLSA claims that no individual can be liable for those claims. Ergo, no individuals, be it Lizzo or the person sweeping the floor behind her, can be a defendant under the FLSA or Title VII. This is the reason Lizzo and her tour manager were dismissed from the case.”

Zambrano added, “It had nothing to do with the merits of the claims. The lawsuit still moves forward against Lizzo’s company, Big Grrl Touring, as to all claims except for the overtime allegation. The Ninth Cause of Action for Unpaid Overtime was also dismissed for jurisdictional, not evidentiary reasons, given claims for unpaid overtime only apply for work done within the United States. Lizzo and her tour manager will still be deposed in connection with the lawsuit.”

At the time, Lizzo’s attorneys described Daniels as a “disgruntled” employee with “meritless and salacious” accusations.

It has also been shared that lawyers representing Lizzo have not responded to request for comment.

Back in October, Lizzo retracted her previous comments that she was taking a “gap year”, stating: “I’ve just been working, working, working. You may not see me, but I’ve been working. This ain’t a gap year, it’s a grind year.”

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