The View’s Sunny Hostin has admitted she “believes” in the allegations of harassment and harassment leveled against Lizzo this week – hours after the singer vehemently denied the claims.
On Thursday’s episode of the ABC show, the panel discussed the allegations made by three of Lizzo’s former backing dancers, as well as the Good As Hell hitmaker’s statement, in which she insisted the allegations are “outrageous” and untrue.
Plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez have accused the Grammy winner — as well as Big Grrrl Big Touring and dance team captain Shirlene Quigley — of creating a “sexually charged and uncomfortable” work environment in their lawsuit.
On Thursday’s episode of the show, 54-year-old Sunny expressed her support for Lizzo’s accusers, saying she is “so disappointed” in the singer.
She also denounced “the hypocrisy of the bullying going on” in the industry, while referring to separate claims made against Lizzo by documentary filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison.
Sophia labeled Lizzo a “narcissistic bully” in a shocking Instagram post, claiming the singer “creates an extremely toxic work environment” as she shed some light on what she allegedly experienced while working on a documentary with the hit parade in 2019 .
Her take: The View’s Sunny Hostin ‘believes’ the harassment and bullying allegations leveled against Lizzo
Speaking Out: Whoopi Goldberg urged people to ‘wait until you have all the information’
Strong Claims: Lizzo is accused of creating a ‘sexually charged and uncomfortable’ work environment
Whoopi Goldberg of The View reminded Sunny and everyone watching at home that it’s still just accusations at this point and urged people to “wait until you have all the information.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin shared her thoughts on the allegations, telling the panel, “I have to check my preconceptions just because I’m such a Lizzo fan. When I’m having a bad day she’s my hype girl, I put Lizzo on and I love her music, I love her energy and body positivity.
“I read her statement, she was outright,[she]didn’t acknowledge any of this. She did not accept any of the charges. I think one thing I noticed because some of the allegations were about them being in a club and asking them to do inappropriate things.
“That struck me where I think it’s an area where Lizzo can accept some responsibility because I’m sure she said, ‘I’m with my friends, my dancers are my friends,’ but there’s a power imbalance because she’s their boss and so they don’t feel they can say “no”.
“So I noticed that, I love her and I want to see her come back from this, so I think acknowledging some responsibility for whatever is true, but it’s also so hard with these things to know.” ..” Alyssa, 34, added.
Joy Behar chimed in saying “It’s the fat shame that seems hypocritical because it’s all about body positivity and if it’s true we don’t know if it’s true we’ll see what happens when they get to the go to court.
“But if you go out and say you love your body, and then start shaming others, that’s not kosher. People don’t like that, that’s the hypocrisy of it,” she added.
Sunny, the mother of two, was eager to have her say and said: “The hypocrisy of the bullying that goes on in this industry, in the music industry and the TV industry and Hollywood where thin is everything and she was the only person who used to be. like, “no, it’s not,” and so I guess that’s why I’m so disappointed.’
Her take: Joy Behar said if the claims are true, it’s Lizzo’s “hypocrisy.”
Torn: Alyssa Farah Griffin admitted she is a Lizzo fan and described the singer as ‘very powerful’
On the air: Joy, Sunny and Alyssa (LR) shared their thoughts on the serious allegations
Another point of view: Sunny was referring to recent claims made by documentary filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison
Sunny then admitted, “I tend to believe this happened, and the reason I say this is because there was an Oscar-nominated director, her name is Sophia Nahli Allison.
“She is an incredible American documentary filmmaker and photographer. She was supposed to do Lizzo’s documentary. She said she was treated so disrespectfully by Lizzo that she eventually decided to walk away after about two weeks because of the toxicity.”
Sunny then read Sophia’s statement, in which she claimed she had been “treated with such disrespect” and claimed she had “witnessed how arrogant, self-centered and unkind” Lizzo is.
“That’s tough,” Sunny said as 67-year-old Whoopi reminded her that they were “so-called” legitimate claims.
The Sister Act star argued, “Listen, you can be a jerk and be a great person at the same time. Both things are true. You can do a… I can’t say the word, but it starts with an A, and do great things.
“I don’t know what happened, and like you said Joy, we’ll find out when it comes out in the wash, that’s what we have to consider.
“Always wait until you have all the information because as we know people throw stuff out and once it’s out there it’s there for life so whether or not it happened you carry that with you too you, so take your time.’
Alyssa then added, “I want to be clear. I think these women who have spoken out seem credible and have nothing to gain by doing this and hiring someone with a lot of power.”
Clapping back: The 35-year-old described the allegations as ‘overwhelmingly disappointing’
Court Ready: Crystal Williams is one of the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit against Lizzo
Allegations: Another accuser, Noelle Rodriguez, alleges Lizzo showed her two middle fingers when she stopped and yelled a slur at her
But Joy strongly disagreed, arguing, “She says they have nothing to gain, what they have to gain is a lawsuit that makes them money.”
Lizzo, 35, broke her silence on the allegations on Thursday morning with a lengthy statement on Instagram.
As well as describing the claims as “overwhelmingly disappointing” and saying they were “too outrageous not to be addressed.”
“These sensational stories come from former employees who have already publicly admitted that their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional,” she suggested.
‘As an artist, I’ve always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I want to release only the best art that represents me and my fans.
With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make tough decisions, but it is never my intention to make anyone feel unappreciated as an important part of the team.”
She ended her statement by “thanking everyone who has reached out to support me during this difficult time.”