Say it isn’t, Lizzo.
Our beloved Big Grrrl of Pop is said to be a cruel, narcissistic monster, who shamed and humiliated her dancers.
Those are the claims rocking the entertainment world this week.
Three of her former dancers, Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis and Noelle Rodrigue, have accused the multi-Grammy-winning singer of sexual, religious and racial harassment, creating a hostile work environment, false imprisonment and more.
Oh dear.
That’s quite a list.
One of the most shocking allegations concerns an Amsterdam nightclub.
At this point in the program, ask any impressionable kids in the room who may have been reading over your shoulder back to their iPads.
The lawsuit, filed in an LA court, alleges that Lizzo and her crew went to a strip club called Bananenbar.
The meaning of that name will soon become nauseatingly obvious.
At the club, Lizzo reportedly began “inviting cast members to take turns touching the naked performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas.”
Please check.
Our beloved Big Grrrl of Pop is said to be a cruel, narcissistic monster, who shamed and humiliated her dancers.
The lawsuit, filed in an LA court, alleges that Lizzo and her crew went to a strip club called Bananenbar.
That would have made things even more uncomfortable for one of the women.
“Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the naked women,” the suit reads.
When Davis refused, Lizzo allegedly started a chant. Davis says she eventually committed the deed and the group burst into laughter.
Frankly, if that was the only content of the lawsuit, I doubt I’d be talking about it today.
Look, the allegations are bad, gross, potentially criminal. But aside from the legality of it all – what would we expect from Lizzo?
If you don’t want to be in Banana Bar, split. There’s a damn banana on the sign above the club.
You didn’t know what you were doing? Even the lawsuit notes that attending the after parties was voluntary.
It was revealed this week that Beyonce’s crew is towing around with a custom golf cart that follows her every move on the road. Inside the car is a box labeled ‘toilet seats’.
That’s right.
Queen B takes her throne with her wherever she goes.
Is that a harmful disclosure? No. She’s a diva. It makes perfect sense.
This is Lizzo’s brand.
She has changed the game when it comes to plus size women, wearing skimpy leotards, flaunting their bodies and sexuality, while performing on stage in front of a screaming audience of thousands.
Are we that surprised that Lizzo was throwing raunchy parties?
Honestly, I never really liked Lizzo’s shtick at first.
Is she talented? Naturally.
She is an accomplished singer, flautist and performer.
When Davis (above) refused, Lizzo allegedly started a chant. Davis says she eventually committed the deed and the group burst into laughter.
Three of her former dancers, Crystal Williams (top left), Arianna Davis and Noelle Rodrigue (top right), have accused the multi-Grammy-winning singer of sexual, religious and racial harassment, creating a hostile work environment, false imprisonment, and more.
That said, she undoubtedly benefits from her progressive, body-positivity proselytism.
But it’s the allegations that Lizzo and her management team were savage and demoralizing bosses that are so damaging.
That she shamed other women.
Davis says Lizzo and a choreographer wondered after a performance why she seemed “less committed.” Davis interpreted that as a “thinly veiled” reference to her weight.
Lizzo herself has been the target of fat-shamers.
“I’m not trying to BE fat. I’m not trying to BE any smaller,” Lizzo once tweeted in response to haters.
Would she really turn around and do that to someone else?
Another allegation is that Lizzo’s team held an “excruciating 12 hour rehearsal” and that if Lizzo was not satisfied with the performances, the dancers would apparently have been fired.
Davis claims she was so afraid she would lose her job if she went to the bathroom, she wet her pants. It’s horrible, if true.
Could the “Do it for the Big Grrls” icon be contributing to a toxic culture she’s been berating herself?
Is she talented? Naturally. She is an accomplished singer, flautist and performer.
To get to the level of professional success of a Beyonce or a Lizzo, one has to be incredibly motivated, focused and demanding. But nobody likes fraud.
It was revealed this week that Beyonce’s crew is towing around with a custom golf cart that follows her every move on the road. Inside the car is a box marked ‘toilet seats’.
That someone who claims to embrace “body positivity” allegedly only cares about her own body.
Lizzo has issued a general denial and she deserves the presumption of innocence. But we can all acknowledge that it’s these kinds of claims of blatant hypocrisy that brought Ellen down.
The ‘Queen of Nice’ ended each show by looking into the camera and saying ‘be nice to each other’. But her employees claimed that working on her show was downright mean, and more — racist and full of sexual harassment.
An investigation came and Ellen took responsibility. “I learned that things happen here that should never have happened,” said Ellen on her season premiere. ‘I take that very seriously. And I want to say I’m so sorry to the people who have been affected.”
That season was her last.
See, the public can excuse artists for being tough bosses. To get to the level of professional success of a Beyonce or a Lizzo, one has to be incredibly motivated, focused and demanding. But nobody likes fraud.
Others have come forward to support the allegations.
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison says she stopped working on Lizzo’s documentary because the star was “arrogant, self-centered and unfriendly,” “treated her so disrespectfully,” and was a “narcissistic bully.”
Another former dancer, Courtney Hollinquest, posted on her social media that the allegations against Lizzo were “very much my experience in my time there.”
Quinn Whitney Wilson, former creative director of Lizzo, praised the dancers who came forward, writing, “I greatly applaud the dancer’s courage in bringing this to light and I regret parts of my own experience.”
Ultimately, no one likes to be fooled.
Maybe even a Big Grrl can be a bully.