Lizzo Breaks Her Silence on Sexual Harassment Lawsuits

After more than a year, Lizzo is giving her side of the story on the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by three of her former dancers.

In a new interview with Keke Palmer for her Baby, This is Keke Palmer podcast, the 36-year-old singer described 2023 as both a career high and challenging period.

While she celebrated major achievements such as winning Record of the Year at the Grammys and completing her first arena tour, Lizzo says she was “completely blindsided” by a lawsuit filed by three former dancers.

The dancers, named Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez, alleged in a lawsuit filed last August that the “About Damn Time” singer and her team made them endure sexual, religious, and racial harassment; disability discrimination; assault and false imprisonment; and more.

At the time, Lizzo’s legal team denied each allegation and filed a motion to throw out the case.

Lizzo’s interview with Palmer arrives nearly a week after some of the claims had been dismissed by a judge due to lack of evidence.

“People who have been following me for a long time know that when I started as an indie artist, I was hiring my friends and that's how it is in this industry,” Lizzo explained at the 10:10 mark in the video linked above. “You hire your friends and if they're not your friends when you hire them, they become your friends.”

She continued, “That boss employee dynamic in the music industry isn't as intense as it is in the corporate world. I literally toured with people that I considered my best friends and sisters for years, and I hear about artists who don't even talk to their dancers, who don't mingle with them at all.

"I used to be like, ‘Why it's like that? It don't gotta be like that. We can all be family, and hang out and have a good time.’ But now I see why. And I think this experience taught me how to set those kinds of boundaries, not just to protect them, but to protect myself.

“Let's be clear, I did nothing wrong,” Lizzo added. “So I have no regrets, but I do have now this learned experience that is preparing me for the boss that I am becoming. This experience hasn't stopped me from being me, and I think it could have easily done that … I wasn't even playing the role of the hero, so why would I start playing the role of a villain? I'm just me and I'm gonna continue to be me.”

Throughout the hour-long interview, Lizzo addressed several of the allegations made against her. Of one specific claim of sexual harassment tied to a visit to Crazy Horse, a Parisian cabaret with topless performers, the singer said attending the show was optional.

“There's photos and videos of the three girls who are the ex-dancers who are suing me in a video with them, smiling, having a great time," she explained. "We all went back to our hotels, and that is one of the claims of sexual harassment."

Elsewhere, Lizzo denied firing a dancer for gaining weight and seeming less committed to her role, saying, “That particular person—I hired them after their weight gain, you know what I mean? It was the opposite. You didn't get fired after that. You got hired. And the world has seen me champion for bigger bodies, champion for smaller bodies too.”

Despite the circumstances, Lizzo also said that she would continue to fight the other claims until they're all dismissed.

“I still believe women. I still believe victims, because this happened to me, it's not going to change that," she said. "But people should not be able to just say anything about somebody, and put it in the media, and ask for money. You shouldn't be able to do those things. So I'm fighting.”