Lizzo’s lawyers say the lawsuit filed by a wardrobe assistant over alleged discrimination and wrongful termination during the Grammy winner’s 2023 European tour is “meritless,” so all remaining allegations against Lizzo’s touring company should be dismissed before a trial.
In a scathing new filing, Lizzo’s lawyers call plaintiff Asha Daniels a “brazen liar” and “disgruntled former employee with an inflated ego” who harbors “personal vendettas” against Lizzo, her tour manager Carlina Gugliotta, and wardrobe manager Amanda Nomura. The lawyers claim Daniels sued with “absurd allegations” because she was upset her assistant job did not “grant her direct access to Lizzo” to pitch costume ideas and play with designs.
“Once [Daniels] joined the tour, it was immediately evident that she felt the role was beneath her,” the 34-page filing obtained by Rolling Stone reads. “To add insult to injury, Daniels got no closer to Lizzo than occasionally smiling at her in passing.”
In response to the new motion for summary judgment, Daniels’ lead lawyer, Ronald Zambrano, says he’s not worried.
“We fully expected the defense to file a motion to dismiss. We also fully expect the judge to deny the motion, and we look forward to taking this case to trial and winning,” Zambrano says in a statement. “The motion is meritless, and the defense knows it, but their modus operandi is to treat all lawsuits as having no grounds to proceed by repeatedly blaming the victim. It won’t work.”
According to the new motion filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Daniels has not produced “a single witness” to back up the complaints of a hostile work environment she started making involving Nomura during her first few days on the job. Lizzo’s lawyers say Gugliotta took the complaints seriously from the start, investigated, found nothing illegal and instructed the two to get along. “Daniels could and would not do so,” the paperwork filed Friday says.
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The new filing further seeks to discredit Daniels’ claims she faced disability discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The lawyers say Daniels’ allegations that she never received accommodations for an ankle injury, an allergic reaction, and two broken acrylic nails that caused her nail beds to bleed were baseless. The lawyers fault Daniels for wearing slide-on gym shoes or Crocs during her work hours, not asking for crutches, and failing to request a ladder for her bunk bed on the tour bus.
“She could not reasonably believe that a rolled ankle, broken acrylic nails or feeling ‘woozy’ are disabilities under the ADA,” the new filing reads. The lawyers say Daniels “may not have liked the way Nomura allegedly behaved,” but “none of the complained-of conduct that allegedly offended Daniels is actionable discrimination or retaliation under federal law.”
With the new motion, Lizzo’s lawyers are asking the judge to step in and rule that the superstar’s touring company, Big Grrrl, has no liability based on the stated claims and evidence so far. Last December, the court granted a similar motion in Lizzo’s favor, cutting her loose as an individual defendant, apart from her company.
Daniels first filed her lawsuit in Sept. 2023, alleging the atmosphere on Lizzo’s tour subjected her to “racist and fat phobic comments,” sexual harassment, and disability discrimination. She claimed Nomura physically injured her by rolling a “heavy clothing rack” over her foot.
In a text exchange included in court documents, Daniels told Gugliotta that Nomura “ran over” her foot with the rack and pushed her. She said she wanted Nomura to “stop bullying” her. “It’s not lost on me that I’m one of the only black women working behind the scenes & I feel like she is treating me like I’m a slave and can’t have a voice,” one message said.
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“I’m going to talk to her today for you. We don’t want anyone to feel like they are being bullied or not having a nice time,” Gugliotta responded. “Also, you aren’t the only black woman just so you know. We are very female heavy behind the scenes on this tour which is great and we do have another black lady in video/lighting.”
Daniels filed her complaint in the wake of a similar sexual harassment and hostile workplace environment lawsuit filed by three of Lizzo’s former dancers. Lizzo has denied the claims. In a March 2024 Instagram post, the “Truth Hurts” singer said she was considering quitting the industry.
“I’m getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet. All I want is to make music and make people happy and help the world be a little better than how I found it,” she wrote. “I’m constantly up against lies being told about me for clout & views.”
In a ruling last year, a judge clipped some of the dancers’ lawsuit but allowed the rest to proceed. Lizzo and her lawyers are appealing that ruling.
Speaking to Keke Palmer on the actress’ podcast last December, Lizzo addressed the legal claims head-on. “I was literally living in my dream and then the tour ended and three ex-dancers just completely blindsided me with a lawsuit,” Lizzo said on the Baby This Is Keke Palmer podcast.
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“The hardest part about all of this is that none of these things are true,” Lizzo said, calling the claims “ridiculous” and “very silly.”
“I could go through every single one. The sexual harassment one is really the one that upsets me the most,” she said.
