Lizzo told fans she is focusing on her music, health, and business, just weeks after her legal team revealed a bombshell lawsuit filed by her former dancers alleging she fostered a hostile work environment.
Born Melissa Viviane Jefferson, the 35-year-old artist posted a mirror photo of herself wearing a white robe on Instagram.
“Hi. I’m working.. on music, myself, relationships with people and food, my anxiety, my body, my business, and my trust issues with the world.. but they are deep now, deeper than they’ve ever been. Xoxo” she captioned the photo.
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It’s interesting to note that she mentioned “my trust issues with the world” given the amount of controversy that has surrounded her alleged acts toward others.
The Grammy winner’s post was made just a few weeks after her lawyers moved to dismiss the case brought by her former dancers.
According to records that Billboard was able to get, Martin D. Singer wrote: ‘Plaintiffs embarked on a press tour, vilifying defendants and pushing their fabricated sob story in the courts and in the media. That ends today.’
He continued: ‘Instead of taking any accountability for their own actions, plaintiffs filed this lawsuit against defendants out of spite and in pursuit of media attention, public sympathy and a quick payday with minimal effort.’
Aside from disputing many of the particular accusations made in the lawsuit—such as that she had fat-shamed some of her dancers—the lawyers also presented sworn statements from eighteen members of Lizzo’s traveling group.
One of the dancers recalled: ‘I never saw anyone, including plaintiffs, being weight shamed or body shamed.’
The person went on to say that the singer of Good As Hell had behaved professionally when dealing with other dancers.
‘Lizzo inspired all of us to celebrate and love ourselves and our bodies as we are,’ they wrote.
Because of the creative nature of Lizzo’s work, the Juice singer’s team wants the case to be dismissed immediately under California’s so-called anti-SLAPP Act, which makes it easier to quickly stop meritless lawsuits that threaten free speech and are typically used in defamation cases.
Her lawyers wrote: ‘The complaint — and plaintiffs’ carefully choreographed media blitz surrounding its filing — is a brazen attempt to silence defendants’ creative voices and weaponize their creative expression against them.’
The accusers’ attorneys, Noelle Rodriguez, Arianna Davis, and Crystal Williams, criticized the move to dismiss.
In a statement, Neama Rahmani of West Coast Employment Lawyers informed Billboard: ‘Even a first-year law student can see that ‘free speech’ does not cover Lizzo and her team’s illegal sexual harassment and racial, religious, and disability discrimination.’
She added: ‘Filming a reality TV show doesn’t give Lizzo the right to break the law.’
‘The defense’s declarants are either defendants accused of wrongdoing, or people who are on Lizzo’s payroll, and their statements can’t be considered by the judge,’ she said.
Rahmani said a number of people who had supposedly been mistreated by the singer had contacted West Coast Employment Lawyers as well. ‘Our clients have dozens of independent witnesses who support their stories, and we continue to receive inquiries from other former Lizzo employees who want to be new plaintiffs,’ she said.
Lizzo, who hasn’t released music since July’s “Pink” for the Barbie film, has kept a quiet profile in the aftermath of the lawsuit, but she did proudly display her Tina Turner and Carmen Miranda Halloween costumes on Instagram. She’s also been keeping up with her Yitty business, lately announcing big Black Friday specials.
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