KUALA LUMPUR, August 4 — American singer Lizzo has finally broken her silence on claims of sexual harassment and body shaming by three of her former dancers.
On Instagram yesterday, she released a statement dismissing the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against her as ‘unbelievable’ and ‘outrageous’.
The 35-year-old body positivity champion insisted the claims are untrue and alleged her accusers had previously been warned about their own ‘inappropriate and unprofessional’ conduct, reported Daily Mail.
She also addressed the scandalous banana sex act allegations, which claimed the singer invited cast members to eat bananas from nude performers’ vaginas while in Amsterdam.
Lizzo wrote in the statement: “I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not.”
In response, the legal team of former dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal William, and Noelle Rodriguez have expressed their intentions of taking her to court.
“Given Lizzo is denying that any of this happened, let’s take it to trial,” said Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Employment Lawyers in a statement.
“More witnesses are coming forward every day corroborating the plaintiffs’ allegations, so we’re looking forward to facing Lizzo and her team in court.”
Since the news broke, Lizzo has lost 123,489 followers on Instagram and now has 13.4 million followers.
In just one day, the Truth Hurts singer’s follower count fell by 88,885.
While many condemned her statement, saying it seemed to justify the allegations, there were some who came to her defence.
“Lot of things that were addressed in the suit seem to be missing from your ‘accountability’,” said one.
“Why put out a post at all if you won’t respond to all of what’s brought up? I feel like posting this was a bad move because this statement seems very unfinished.”
In contrast, a supporter said: “I can’t imagine Lizzo fat-shaming anyone, it would be off brand. She made it a point to give dancers with bigger figures the opportunity.”
Plaintiffs Davis, Williams and Rodriguez made the complaints in a 44-page lawsuit filed Tuesday, which names Lizzo, her touring company and her dance captain Shirlene Quigley as defendants, reported The Independent.
Allegations in the lawsuit claim that Lizzo (real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson) led a chant pressuring Davis into touching the breasts of a nude performer against her will at an Amsterdam strip club.
It is also claimed that the Grammy-winning artist called out Davis for weight gain after accusing the dancer of not being committed to her role.
