[News] Singer, Lizzo’s Big Grrrl & Big Boiii dancers speak out in support of the embattled singer after she’s named in sexual harassment and toxic workplace suit from former dancers

Lizzo has received support from her Big Grrrl & Big Boiii dance troupes amid the embattled singer’s sexual harassment and toxic workplace suit from her former dancers.

 

The Truth Hurts singer faces a lawsuit from three former dancers accusing her of sexual harassment and presiding over a hostile work environment.

In a statement, they shared on Instagram, The dance troupes said that they were ‘so honored to share the stage with such amazing talent’ in the 35-year-old Detroit native, upon the conclusion of her recent trek, The Special Tour.

 

The dancer groups said they ‘had the time of our lives on The Special Tour,’ and that the ‘experience has been beyond just #Special.’

The dance groups credited Lizzo for her ‘commitment to character and culture’ weeks after wrapping up the international tour supporting her fourth studio album, 2022’s Special.

The dancers said that as they have been ‘traveling and exploring new horizons of the world,’ they have seen ‘so many advantages to prevailing over hardships that society and the entertainment and beauty industry can bring.’

Amid allegations that Lizzo body shamed one of the litigants for putting on weight, the dancers said they were ‘so Grateful that the standards and existence of Beauty in THIS Team goes beyond the surface.’

They added: ‘Our collective gifts have authentically powered the type of energy, love and that support can physiologically help heal the world. We are a unit of unicorns, undeniably resilient and SPECIAL

They wrapped up with a pair of statements from each respective side, the first of which read, ‘We the BIG GRRRLS, we come through pop and drop it, Thick booty on swole staminia goals AINT NO STOPPIN.’

The second read, ‘We the BIG BOIIIS, we coming through! Move out the way Big Stepping, Head Bussin, Got the moves.’

In the civil lawsuit filed on August 1 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Lizzo was accused of pressuring her dancers to physically engage with sex workers at a club in Amsterdam’s Red Light District this past February while on tour in the area.

In the suit filed against the singer and her production company, dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez claimed Lizzo pressured them to engage with nude performers at a club in Amsterdam and shamed one of them for her weight gain before firing her.

The plaintiffs made numerous charges including sexual, religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault, and false imprisonment.

The legal complaint seeks unspecified damages and names Melissa Viviane Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo, her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc., and Shirlene Quigley, captain of the performer’s dance team.

The court filing claims that after performing a concert in Amsterdam, Lizzo and her crew attended a sexually themed show at a club in the city’s notorious Red Light District where ‘Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers.’

During the show, Lizzo led a chant pressuring Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club, the filing states.

‘Finally, the chorus became overwhelming, and a mortified Ms. Davis acquiesced in an attempt to bring an end to the chants,’ the complaint states. ‘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

Lizzo, who routinely champions body positivity, was also accused of calling out Davis for her weight gain after accusing the dancer of not being committed to her role.

Davis was fired in May for recording a meeting during which Lizzo had given out notes to dancers about their performances, according to the complaint.

Quigley, who served as a judge on the singer’s reality show Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, is accused in the lawsuit of pushing her Christian beliefs onto dancers.

The court filing claims Quigley referred to Davis as a ‘non-believer’ and told co-workers that ‘no job and no one will stop me from talking about the Lord.’