A celebrity face of body positivity is facing allegations of body-shaming and sexual harassment in a lawsuit from former backup dancers.
(Video: KCAL News)
Tuesday, a suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Melissa Jefferson, better known as Lizzo, her dance team captain, Shirlene Quigley, and Big Grrrl Touring, Inc. by three former tour performers with accusations of a hostile work environment. Of the three plaintiffs, Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams said they were fired whereas Noelle Rodriguez was said to have resigned in solidarity.
“…things quickly got out of hand,” the lawsuit alleged of one incident from February when an afterparty took place at a strip club in Amsterdam named Bananenbar, NBC News reported. “Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas.”
The filing further alleged that the entertainer had “pressured” and “goaded” Davis into touching a woman’s naked breasts at the venue, leading others in a chant and then laughing at her when she caved to the pressure.
“The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing,” attorney Ron Zambrano said in a statement on behalf of his clients, noting some of the other charges.
View this post on Instagram
Speaking with KCAL News, Davis contended, “…if this was a corporate office and she was doing exactly the same thing that she was doing on tour, immediately that would be so many HR violations.”
The Amsterdam incident was said to have been followed a week later when employees were invited to a club. “What Lizzo failed to mention when inviting the dancers to this performance was that it was a nude cabaret bar.”
“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 employed,” detailed the suit.
View this post on Instagram
Of her termination, Davis explained that Lizzo had learned that one of the employees had recorded a meeting and allegedly had security confiscate the dancer’s phone. “Lizzo became furious, hurling expletives at the group and stated that she was going to go around the room, person-by-person until someone told Lizzo who made the recording.”
The plaintiff had asserted she had made a copy due to an eye condition and then deleted it to allay concerns from her employer only to have Quigley and Lizzo take “turns berating” her. “After castigating Ms. Davis, Lizzo fired Ms. Davis on the spot.”
Meanwhile, Davis further detailed what she had tolerated to keep her position including one instance where an “excruciating” 12-hour re-audition had led her to “soil herself” out of fear of the ramifications were she to ask to be excused to use the restroom.
Williams’s termination was attributed to budget cuts after she had denied allegations that the dancers had been drinking prior to performances.
Additional alleged harassment included pressure about religion and discussion of Davis’ stated virginity, racial harassment connected to touring, employees-alleged comments “charged with racial and fat-phobic animus,” and concern over Davis’ weight with a remark about her seeming “less committed.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- Starbucks execs say Seattle is a keeper, but their real estate search in Tennessee says another - March 18, 2026
- Chief Justice Roberts takes shot at Trump after nuclear hot blast at SCOTUS, judges - March 18, 2026
- Democrat hack cuts CNBC clip out of context and the spin is shameless, as usual - March 18, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.