This week, a series of fresh allegations have emerged against Lizzo in response to the lawsuit filed by her dancers. Sophia Nahli Allison, a filmmaker, voiced her alleged negative experiences while collaborating on the singer’s documentary via social media.
Allison posted a photo of herself appearing to be filming Lizzo while performing on stage, noting that she wanted to speak out “because validating other Black women’s experiences is deeply important to me.”
“In 2019, I traveled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary. I walked away after about two weeks,” Allison claimed. “I was treated with such disrespect by her. I witnessed how arrogant, self-centered, and unkind she is.”
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Lizzo’s Former Documentary Filmmaker Responds To Dancers’ Lawsuit, Shares Her Alleged Experiences With Singer
Allison deemed the whole situation to be “sh—ty,” and added: “My spirit said to run as fast as you f—king can and I’m so grateful I trusted my gut. I felt gaslit and was deeply hurt, but I’ve healed. Reading these reports made me realize how dangerous of a situation it was.” The filmmaker went on: “This kind of abuse of power happens far too often. Much love and support to the dancers.”
In 2022, Doug Pray directed the documentary Love, Lizzo, released via HBO Max, although it remains unclear if Allison was the original director for the film or if she was shooting a different doc with the “Truth Hurts” hitmaker. This follows a lawsuit filed by the Grammy winner’s dancers.
According to legal documents retrieved by Entertainment Tonight, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez accused Lizzo (real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson) and her company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. (BGBT) of subjecting them to sexual, religious, and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault, and false imprisonment, among other allegations.
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Furthermore, they are taking action against Shirlene Quigley, the leader of Lizzo’s dance team. In a press release, the women’s attorney Ron Zambrano, said: “The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing.”
Davis, Williams and Rodriguez are seeking remuneration from the courts for various damages, such as wages not paid, income loss, compensation postponed, employment benefits, mental anguish, healthcare costs and attorneys’ fees.
On August 3rd, Lizzo released a response for her Instagram followers after her ex-dancers lodged a lawsuit against her, alleging weight-discrimination, sexual misconduct, and an unwelcoming work atmosphere. “The last few days have been gut-wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing.” She wrote.
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The “About Damn Time” singer added: “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,” She continued in the lengthy statement. “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.”
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When reports about the legal action became public, other former back-up dancers for Lizzo followed suit on social media, lending their support to Davis, Williams, and Rodriguez. On her Instagram Story, fellow former coworker Courtney Hollinquest posted a screenshot of the story, and followed it up with a message of her own.
“I’m not a part of the lawsuit — but this was very much my experience in my time there,” she wrote. “Big shoutout to the dancers who had the courage to bring this to light.”
Lizzo’s former creative director Quinn Wilson shared Hollinquest’s post on her own Story. She wrote: “I haven’t been a part of that world for around three years, for a reason. I very much applaud [sic] the dancers’ courage to bring this to light. And I grieve parts of my own experience. I’d appreciate space to understand my feelings.”
