The former dancers accusing Lizzo of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment in a new lawsuit are sharing more details about their experiences working with the pop singer.
Three dancers filed a suit Aug. 1 in Los Angeles against Lizzo, 35, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, and her team, alleging Lizzo had weight-shamed one of them, then fired her, after recording a meeting because of a health condition. They also accuse the singer of pressuring one of them in a strip club to touch a nude performer and subjecting them to an "excruciating" audition after falsely accusing them of drinking on the job.
Lizzo has not commented on the lawsuit. NBC’s efforts to reach the singer’s production company for comment were unsuccessful.
One of the dancers, Arianna Davis, alleges in the suit that Lizzo, known for promoting body positivity, and a choreographer called attention to her weight gain in "thinly veiled" concerns. Davis told NBC News in an Aug. 2 interview on TODAY the behavior was “never blatant fatphobia.”
“It was very nuanced and very underlying underneath all the other issues that were going on,” Davis said. “I just had this feeling that they had a problem with the way I was gaining weight and looking different and that I wasn’t 'the same' as when they first cast me.”
Davis began performing with Lizzo after competing on her Amazon reality show, “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” in 2021, according to the lawsuit, which was shared with NBC News by the plaintiffs’ law firm.
Davis also alleges in the suit that Lizzo pressured her to touch a nude performer at an Amsterdam strip club earlier this year when she did not want to.
“I did not ask for it. I said no multiple times,” Davis told NBC News.
Eventually, Davis said she felt so pressured by Lizzo that she “briefly touched” the performer.
“I was very, very mortified, everyone burst into laughter,” she said.
Davis filed the suit with Crystal Williams, who also began working with Lizzo after appearing on her Amazon reality show, and Noelle Rodriguez, who was hired after performing in Lizzo’s “Rumors” music video. Davis and Williams say in the suit they were fired and Rodriguez says she resigned.
"What I think people should take away is the fact that our experience is not an isolated experience, sadly, when it comes down to Hollywood and how the industry is (run), especially the dance industry," Davis told NBC News.
The lawsuit names Lizzo, her production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, and the dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, as defendants.
The suit also brings claims of racial and religious harassment, among other allegations. Not every claim in the suit was brought against each defendant.