The backup dancers suing Lizzo for sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment have agreed to drop some of their claims against the pop star, including those related to fat-shaming.
Lizzo, who has denied all the allegations against her, had previously asked a court to dismiss the suit, originally filed by Arianna Davis, Noelle Rodriguez, and Crystal Williams in 2023. The judge overseeing the case did agree to dismiss some, but not all, of the claims, including those related to Davis’ allegation that Lizzo fat-shamed her and fired her because of her weight gain.
Ron Zambrano, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said in a statement that his clients did not plan to appeal the judge’s ruling, especially because much of the lawsuit remains intact.
“We are maintaining that Judge Epstein was correct in his ruling denying Lizzo’s special motion to strike the vast majority of claims they attacked, including false imprisonment and harassment,” Zambrano said. “Of the couple of claims Judge Epstein did dismiss, the plaintiffs have taken a considered approach to leave that be. One would hope to see the same level of intellectual honesty and neutral assessment from the defendants, but that hasn’t been the case thus far and it’s disappointing.”
Lawyers for Lizzo did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment, but the pop star did share a statement celebrating the decision on social media.
“There was no evidence that I fired them because they gained weight. Because it never happened. Now the truth is finally out,” Lizzo wrote. “They weren’t fired for gaining weight. They were fired for taking a private recording of me without my consent and sending it off to ex employees.”
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Lizzo went on to say that this fat-shaming allegation had “haunted” her since the day it came out, adding that it had been “devastating to suffer through this in silence.” She also stressed that she has “only encouraged and supported people with bigger bodies and shared my platform with them.”
Thanking her lawyers, Lizzo said she was “grateful for this victory,” and reiterated her intention to keep fighting the lawsuit. “I am not settling,” she said. “I will be fighting every single claim until the truth is out.”
