Three of Lizzo’s former backup dancers are suing the “Good As Hell” singer, along with Big Grrrl Big Touring and dance captain Shirlene Quigley, for allegedly creating a “hostile work environment,” a lawsuit filed August 2023 revealed.
Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez claimed they were subjected to weight-shaming, sexually denigrating behavior and were pressured to participate in disturbing sex shows during their time of employment with Lizzo.
In the suit, the trio accused the Grammy winner of inviting them “to take turns touching nude performers” at a strip club in Amsterdam and encouraging them to catch “dildos launched” from the performers’ vaginas.
The plaintiffs further claimed that Lizzo deceived them one month later when she took them to another nude show, thereby “robbing them of the choice not to participate,” the documents stated.
The women are seeking general and special damages, along with punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.
“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 … absolutely demoralizing,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Ron Zambrano, said in a statement.
Lizzo has not addressed the lawsuit publicly and her reps did not return Pvnew’s request for comment.
Here’s everything you need to know about her three former backup dancers.
Arianna Davis
Davis is an Indiana native who began dancing when she was two years old, according to IndyStar.
“Dance to me is something that you have to do when you don’t have words to express yourself,” the Full Sail University student told the outlet last April.
“When you can’t sing it, you can’t say it, you can’t act it out. You can’t do anything except physically move to express yourself,” she went on.
“When I have no words, I just dance.”
Davis began posting dancing videos on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caught the eye of Lizzo.
She went on to appear in the singer’s reality show, “Watch Out For The Big Grrrls,” which documented her search for backup dancers to join her on tour.
The series won an Emmy for Outstanding Competition Program in 2022 and Davis attended the ceremony with her “role model” Lizzo.
“She’s the same person in real life that she is on social media, and in the media. She is just such a genuine, kind-hearted person, and I love working with her,” she previously told IndyStar.
“I just really want to be a trailblazer, and spread joy because I feel like there’s not enough in the industry,” Davis said of her goals as a performer.
“There’s not enough in the world. And just to be kind to everybody. You know, I feel like if I represent that in my daily life, maybe I can represent that for other people.”
Davis also performed at the 2023 Brit Awards with the “Juice” hitmaker.
In the lawsuit, Davis claimed Lizzo allegedly “pressured” and “goaded” her into touching one nude performer’s breasts while at the sex club in Amsterdam in February 2023.
Elsewhere in the suit, she claimed had no choice but to “soil herself” on stage during an “excruciating” re-audition for the famed dance group, “fearing the repercussions” of excusing herself to use the bathroom.
The “Truth Hurts” singer allegedly fired Davis “on the spot” after learning she had used a recording device in one of their meetings in order to obtain “a copy of the notes” the artist provided.
Noelle Rodriguez
Rodriguez is a Texas native who was hired by Lizzo after starring in her “Rumors” music video.
The dancer, who previously appeared in a SKIMS campaign and danced in the first season of “Euphoria,” resigned from Lizzo’s tour shortly after Davis was fired.
The suit noted she stood in solidarity with her fellow dancer because of the “disrespect” Lizzo allegedly showed her.
The docs also claimed she “feared that Lizzo intended to hit her and would have done so if one of the other dancers had not intervened.”
Before joining the “Boys” chart-topper’s tour, she performed with Beyoncé at Coachella in 2018 and with Janet Jackson for her Billboard Music Awards Icon performance the same year.
In May 2023, she shared a cryptic post to her Instagram page featuring a quote from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
‘If they want to make an example of me, I will gladly be one. Hopefully we can be an example of dedication, courage, and persistence under fire. I also hope to be an example of not toleration nonsense, too,” the politician’s quote read.
Rodriguez then added, “It brings me peace to be at a point in my career where I can say NO to disrespect. I stand strong in walking away from spaces that don’t serve me, and more importantly, don’t deserve me.”
She went on, “My talent, my character, and reputation speaks volumes on its own. Know your worth and never be afraid to use your voice. Stand up for what is right regardless of who is committing the wrong.
“Excited for what is to come. And to be honest it quite was…#aboutdamntime.”
Crystal Williams
Williams also hails from Texas and appeared on Lizzo’s reality show, “Watch Out For The Big Grrrls.”
She graduated from Sam Houston State University in 2020 with a degree in mass communication, shortly before seeing a casting call for the singer’s show.
“I thought maybe this is a sign. I did my video submission and everything, I put together a little montage video,” she told her university in an interview published in February 2023.
“My mass comm degree really popped out with that one because it was a nice audition video, I had two different slides going on while I was talking about myself.”
Williams was cast in the Emmy-winning TV series and began dancing for the pop star immediately, rather than going through the audition process on the show.
“It’s really fun to travel to different places in other parts of the world because I was only restricted to seeing Texas,” Williams said.
“I’m just happy to experience this because I didn’t know that this was a thing for anybody like me, so it’s definitely a blessing.”
In May 2023, she confirmed she was no longer touring with Lizzo in a social media post.
“This door may have been closed but other doors are already opening and I am so excited to embark on this new journey I’m being led to,” she wrote at the time.
“Some of the things I’ve endured along the way has [sic] been eye-opening yet rewarding.”
