Lizzo, who’s once again firing back against a harassment lawsuit from her former touring dancers. Photo Credit: Raph_PH
Lizzo is firing back against the marathon sexual harassment lawsuit she’s facing from several former touring dancers, maintaining that the conduct in question is protected speech.
That interesting position came to light in a new appeal from Team Lizzo, which is specifically challenging a prior decision allowing some of the dancers’ claims to proceed.
By now, most are at least generally aware of the years-old allegations against the singer, who’s looking to ride a comeback out of the cancellation waters. Not helping the effort are the ongoing sexual harassment claims and a distinct case spearheaded by another ex-tour employee.
It’s worth clarifying that fashion designer Asha Daniels submitted the latter suit to a federal court in September 2023. We promptly covered the action – alleging sexual harassment, racial harassment, assault, and more.
In the complaint, Daniels also said she’d witnessed tour employees mistreating dancers while on the road with Lizzo. And long story short, this federal suit, despite a partial dismissal in December 2024 and a subsequent lack of media coverage, is still in motion.
The December order tossed the complaint against a payroll-company defendant – which wound up causing the case to be “erroneously closed” with regard to all defendants.
In mid-April, the court acknowledged the administrative misstep, underscored that the claims against Lizzo’s Big Grrrl Big Touring “remained unresolved and pending,” and tentatively teed up a December 1st jury trial.
Bearing the details in mind, the dancers themselves first sued Lizzo in 2023, and their state-level action, likewise partially dismissed last year, is currently making its way through the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
We’ve already broken down their claims – chief among them allegations of sexual harassment. This refers in large part to an alleged episode wherein Lizzo purportedly pressured her dancer employees to attend a strip-club afterparty of sorts in Amsterdam.
There, the team members were allegedly exposed to and compelled to participate in a series of decidedly work-inappropriate activities, we reported nearly two years ago.
Enter Lizzo’s initially mentioned First Amendment defense and push to dismiss the case.
As quoted by Billboard, the artist’s legal team is arguing that the suit represents “‘an attack on Lizzo’s First Amendment right to perform her music and advocate for body positivity,’” with the above-described strip-club shenanigans allegedly constituting components of “‘Lizzo’s creative process.’”
“‘There’s no disagreement that Lizzo held these outings as a necessary part of her creative process,’” the dismissal motion reportedly spells out.
It probably doesn’t need reiterating, but there’s plenty of distance between the plaintiffs’ position (the outing was both extremely inappropriate and not quite optional) and Lizzo’s stance.
As to where things go from here, the presiding judge has scheduled a status conference for July 16th. Regardless of how the legal battles play out, it’s safe to say they aren’t exactly benefiting Lizzo’s comeback, including reported plans for a fresh album later in 2025.
Music Industry News, Music Law, 2:24-cv-03571, 23SMCV03553
This post was originally authored and published by Dylan Smith Digital Music News via RSS Feed. Join today to get your news feed on Nationwide Report®.
