Not again! Lizzo has found herself facing yet another lawsuit from a former tour employee.
Allegations have emerged suggesting that behind the scenes, the Grammy-winning artist has allowed an environment of bullying, harassment, and racial discrimination to persist. This latest legal battle raises serious concerns about the treatment of employees within Lizzo’s team.
According to NBC News, fashion designer Asha Daniels, 35, filed the new lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. She’s accusing wardrobe manager Amanda Nomura of making stereotypical impressions of Black women as well as referring to performers as “fat,” “useless” and “dumb.” To make matters worse, she claims Nomura forced them to change in front of a mostly white, male stage crew who would “lewdly gawk” at them, per the suit. The filing comes just a day after Lizzo was set to receive an award recognizing her work for promoting inclusivity and social justice. “I was listening to this Black woman on this huge stage have this message of self-love and caring for others and being empathetic and being strong and standing up for others,” Asha Daniels told the outket. “And I was witnessing myself, the dancers and the background vocalists and my local team in every city be harassed and bullied regularly.”
Daniels stated that she was fired after she brought the issues she had with Nomura to Lizzo’s team and complained about them, according to the suit. Although Lizzo is not the one being accused of doing these things, Daniels’ lawyer, Ron Zambrano, said in a statement to NBC, “Lizzo is the boss, so the buck stops with her.”
As some are aware, Zambrano, also reps three former dancers who sued Lizzo last month and accused her of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. Zambrano said Lizzo “has created a sexualized and racially charged environment on her tours that her management staff sees as condoning such behavior, and so it continues unchecked.”
While Lizzo’s team has not yet responded to this new lawsuit, she has previously denied the first allegations that were made. She said at the time the dancers’ accounts “sensationalized stories” were false and “outrageous.”
RELATED: Attorneys For Lizzo’s Former Dancers Respond To Claims That They ‘Happily’ Went To Nude Show
“As an artist, I have always been passionate about what I do,” Lizzo, who was born Melissa Jefferson, said in an August Instagram post. “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.” The 35-year-old “2 Be Loved” singer added, “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.”
“I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days,” the Grammy Award winner continued. “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. There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.”
She concluded her post by saying, “I’m hurt but I will not let the good work I’ve done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support to lift me up during this difficult time.”
UPDATE:
Lizzo’s spokesperson has since responded to the new lawsuit:
“As Lizzo receives a Humanitarian Award tonight from the Black Music Action Coalition for the incredible charitable work she has done to lift up all people, an ambulance-chasing lawyer tries to sully this honor by recruiting someone to file a bogus, absurd publicity-stunt lawsuit who, wait for it, never actually met or even spoke with Lizzo. We will pay this as much attention as it deserves. None.”