The attorneys that are representing Lizzo’s former dancers are responding back to the photos that surfaced online of them “happily” attending a nude show after reports that the singer plans to countersue them.
As we previously reported, Lizzo’s attorney, Marty Singer, described the women as “happily carousing” and “gleefully reveling” in the photos, which he said discredited their claims in the “bogus” lawsuit. But now in a new statement provided to HuffPost, the women’s attorney Neama Rahmani accused Lizzo of trying to play this case out on social media instead of taking it to the courtroom.
“We’ve addressed all these instances where the plaintiffs appear to be happy alongside Lizzo during their time working with her,” Rahmani said. “Of course, they wanted to keep their jobs. They had bills to pay just like everyone else but they finally had enough of the abuse.”
Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez are the former dancers who have accused Lizzo of sexual harassment, weight shaming and more. Though Lizzo has denied the allegations, fans are still not sure whose story to believe. Lizzo released a statement to her Instagram denying the claims that read: “These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals, and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized. Usually, I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed. These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”
“As an artist, I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because, at the end of the day, I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans. With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it’s never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren’t valued as an important part of the team.”
The women who accused Lizzo of these things said they are still going to fight this battle despite seeing her statement where she denied everything. While reiterating their claims, Williams said, “We were treated poorly. Nobody did anything about it when we tried to speak up and advocate for ourselves. So now we’re doing it. I know that my mind feels a lot clearer. There was a lot of anxiety and a lot of feelings of being overwhelmed once our suit was made public. But today, I feel very proud to be pursuing this with these ladies.”