Lizzo counter-sues backup dancers for ‘malicious prosecution’

Pop singer Lizzo has been sued by former backup dancers of her troupe for sexual harassment, unprofessionalism and body shaming. In the suit filed earlier this month, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez detailed instances of being shamed for weight gain, being coerced into touching nude dancers.

On Wednesday, Lizzo’s lawyer said in a statement sent to The Independent, that the singer was now counter suing the dancers for ‘malicious content’, describing the lawsuit as a sham.

The statement included photos of the three plaintiffs Davis, Williams and Rodriguez with “the performers after the topless cabaret show at the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris” on 5 March, 2023. In their lawsuit, the dancers had claimed they were not informed by Lizzo that the dancers performing would be naked, “robbing them of the choice not to participate”.

The plaintiff’s also described Lizzo pressurising cast members to take turns touching the nude performers “catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas”.

However, Lizzo’s statement said the images released show the plaintiff’s happily spending time in the club they had complained about in the lawsuit:

“These images showing the three plaintiffs gleefully revelling backstage after the topless show were taken after their February 2023 visit to Bananenbar in Amsterdam that they complain about in their lawsuit.”

Neema Rahmani, representing the three dancers in the lawsuit, responded to the images, and said they had previously addressed all the instances where the plaintiff’s appeared to be happy alongside Lizzo, during the time the

“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. We stand by every claim in the lawsuit and look forward to trial.

“We’ve been hearing from other former employees sharing similar stories, and as seen in the Los Angeles Times article today about how Lizzo used intimate footage of her dancers without their approval in the 2022 HBO Max Love Lizzo documentary, we’re seeing even more of a pattern of just how much Lizzo thinks of those who work for her. Clearly, not very much.”

Furthermore, Rahmani slammed the singer’s statement as an “empty threat” and said they were ready to meet the lawyer and his client in the courtroom because they had no plans of backing down.

“I’ve handled thousands of cases, including prosecuting drug cartels so we have no plans to back down. Let’s see if Singer can actually try a case in a courtroom instead of the media,” said Rahmani.

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