Lizzo Sexual Harassment and Fat-Shaming Lawsuit

About

Lizzo Sexual Harassment and Fat-Shaming Lawsuit refers to a lawsuit filed against American pop artist and singer Lizzo by three of her former dancers over alleged sexual harassment and hostile work environment in July 2023. Following media reports in August 2023, the details of the lawsuit went viral on social media as users discussed Lizzo's reported misconduct and alleged harassment of the dancers.

Origin

On August 1st, 2023, NBC News,^[1] Pop Base^[2] and other media reported that Lizzo's three former dancers Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis and Noelle Rodriguez filed a lawsuit against the singer, as well as her dance captain Shirlene Quigley, for alleged sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.

The lawsuit detailed the circumstances of several incidents in which Lizzo allegedly mistreated her dancers and pressured them into unwanted activities, and a history of Lizzo's inappropriate behavior when interacting with her dancers. For instance, the lawsuit details a visit to a strip club in Amsterdam during which Lizzo purportedly invited her cast members "to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas." Another part of the lawsuit mentions Lizzo calling attention to one dancer's weight gain, and firing that dancer later.^[2][3]

Later on August 1st, Lizzo's former creative director Courtney Hollinquest and dancer Quinn Whitney Wilson both posted Instagram stories in which they related to experiences detailed in the lawsuit (shown below, left and right).^[4]

Spread

The news of the lawsuit against Lizzo immediately sparked viral reactions on Twitter as some users expressed their disappointment with the singer's reported misconduct in the following days. For example, on August 1st, 2023, Twitter^[5] user @TEXASTITTIE tweeted, "if this lizzo shit is true then I’m actually heartbroken like jesus christ. everything she stood for would genuinely be a lie," with the tweet gaining over 7,300 retweets and 117,000 likes in one day (shown below, left). A tweet posted by Twitter^[6] user @venusianhunty that same day gained over 2,200 retweets and 39,700 likes in a similar timeframe (shown below, right).

Many users made jokes about Lizzo, known for her body-positive media image, allegedly fat-shaming one of her dancers. For example, on August 1st, 2023, Twitter^[7] user @fbgwayno posted a tweet that garnered over 1,800 retweets and 20,700 likes in one day (shown below, left). Also on August 1st, Twitter^[8] user @RedLightning420 made a tweet that gained over 5,000 retweets and 88,300 likes in one day (shown below, right).

The lawsuit remained a viral subject of discussions and memes on Twitter and other social media in early August 2023.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References