Despite Lizzo’s message of positivity and inclusion, many former collaborators and employees of the singer have come forward recently to allege that she and her team created or allowed a toxic work environment. After the story broke because of a lawsuit, more have come forward with their own experiences about working with the 35-year-old, though no hard proof has been offered to corroborate any of it, and Lizzo has not yet commented publicly.
Here is a timeline of the still-evolving story:
August 1, 2023: NBC News exclusively reports on a bombshell lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on behalf of three former tour dancers that names Lizzo (whose legal name is Melissa Vivianne Jefferson), her company, and her dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, as defendants. The incidents in question seem to have mostly taken place during the first half of 2023. Specifically, the suit accuses Quigley of pressuring her dancers on religious matters and Lizzo of pressuring an uncomfortable dancer to touch a nude performer at an after-party. There are also allegations of weight-shaming, unfair firings, and racially biased attitudes.
August 2, 2023: Others who have worked with Lizzo come forward in support of the dancers. Director Sophia Nahli Allison, who was in 2019 briefly attached to a documentary about the singer, blasts her, calling her “arrogant, self-centered, and unkind.” (An HBOMax documentary, Love, Lizzo, directed by Doug Pray, was released in 2022.)
Dancer Courtney Hollinquest posts a link to an article about the suit to her Instagram Stories and writes, “For clarification, I’m not a part of the lawsuit—but this was very much my experience in my time there,” per JustJared. “Big shoutout to the dancers who had the courage to bring this to light.” Director Quinn Wilson, who worked on many creative projects with Lizzo, reposts Hollinquest’s story, adding, “I haven’t been apart of that world for around three years, for a reason. I very much applaude [sic] the dancers’ courage to bring this to light. And I grieve parts of my own experience. I’d appreciate space to understand my feelings.”
Artist Asha Efia seems to allude to the situation on her own Stories, writing, “I really don’t believe in being a POS boss,” and Wilson reposts that as well.
Instagram:@quinnwilsonn
