The dancers who are suing Lizzo for sexual harassment have responded to her recent announcement that she’s “quitting”, calling it a “joke”.
Just days ago, the singer announced she was quitting music in a post to Instagram. “I’m getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet,” she wrote, adding that she was “starting to feel like the world doesn’t want me in it.”
She finished the post with: “I didn’t sign up for this – I QUIT.”
Now, the dancers suing her for sexual harassment have responded to the post, with their lawyer Ron Zambrano telling Entertainment Weekly: “It’s a joke that Lizzo would say she is being bullied by the internet when she should instead be taking an honest look at herself.”
“Her latest post is just another outburst seeking attention and trying to deflect from her own failings as she continues to blame everyone else for the predicament she is in,” he continued. “Lizzo’s legal and public relations strategy is a failure, so she is desperately trying to play the victim.”
Zambrano also alleged that the popstar had “thrown these childish tantrums before,” finally claiming that “no one actually believes she is quitting music.”
In response, a representative for Lizzo, Stefan Friedman, told Entertainment Weekly: “With nearly half his case dismissed, 18 independent witnesses siding with Lizzo and no settlement on the way to get him his tasty contingency fee, Ron has started making wild personal attacks that have absolutely nothing to do with the clients who he is supposedly representing.
“We would humbly recommend that Ron start representing his clients and stop representing just himself.”
The message comes after Lizzo’s request to dismiss her upcoming sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit was denied by a judge in February. Lizzo was originally sued in August 2023, having been accused of creating a hostile work environment and sexual harassment at a strip club in Amsterdam.
In response, Lizzo said she was “hurt” and called the allegations “false”. Since the first lawsuit, lawyers have reviewed more complaints from other backup dancers. Lizzo was also named in a new lawsuit from a former hairstylist in September, which she further moved to dismiss.
Lizzo’s first lawsuit has now been ruled to go ahead in its entirety towards a trial. Though her lawyers initially filed to dismiss the lawsuit “in its entirety” in September 2023 under California’s anti-SLAPP statute (“strategic lawsuits against public participation”), an LA judge ruled that the lawsuit did not fit into anti-SLAPP legislation.
Though certain claims were dismissed, including one that alleged Lizzo had fat-shamed a dancer despite years of body positivity advocacy, he ruled that the rest of the case could go forward.
Lizzo previously claimed this January that she was working on new music and that she felt that “the magic was back”.
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