"I was very deeply hurt" — Lizzo opens up about being blindsided by ex-dancers' harassment lawsuit

Lizzo has broken her silence about the legal complaints she faced from former dancers, who accused her of s*xual harassment. In August 2023, three of the artist's ex-backup dancers, Arianna Davis, Noelle Rodriguez, and Crystal Williams, sued her for alleged racial and s*xual harassment.

Per the complaint, via People on August 2 that same year, the three alleged that the singer pressured them to touch nude performers at a club in Amsterdam and that she shamed them for their weight.

A month later, Asha Daniels, who worked as a wardrobe stylist for Lizzo, also sued her for forcing her employees to work in a racist and s*xualized environment, as per NBC News on September 21, 2023. Now, over a year later, the singer addressed the lawsuits on Keke Palmer's Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast on Thursday, December 19.

She said she "needed time to process" after the controversies in 2023, adding that she was deeply hurt by what happened. The 36-year-old said:

"I was very deeply hurt because these were three ex-dancers, so they weren't on the tour. They didn't, like finish the tour out with us. But even regardless of that, these were people that I gave opportunities to."

The singer admitted she felt "blindsided" by the allegations from people she previously worked with. She recalled the whole ordeal happening after her first arena tour with her Watch Out for the Big Grrrls dancers, saying:

"I was literally living in my dream, and then the tour ended, and three ex-dancers just completely, like, blindsided me with a lawsuit."

Lizzo further pointed out that the people who sued her were ones that she "liked," "appreciated," and "respected" as dancers, which is partly why she felt blindsided when they sued her.

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Lizzo reveals that she was most upset by the s*xual harassment allegations against her

In her conversation with Keke Palmer, Lizzo expressed her disappointment by the accusations but that she was most upset by the s*xual harassment allegations. She recalled hearing them, saying:

"I was like, 'What?' But then I heard all the other things like s*xual harassment, and I was like, they're trying well, I don't know what they're trying to do, but these are the types of things that the media can turn into something that it's not."

The musician also insisted that she "did nothing wrong" and recounted her version of things that happened at the bar in Amsterdam's Red Light District. She clarified that she went to the bar by herself and didn't bring the dancers, aka the plaintiffs, with her.

However, they went to the same bar, but she clarified that only two of the three who sued her were at the bar at the time, despite them claiming that all three of them were there.

Lizzo also explained to Palmer that the environment at the bar at the time was "fun" and "very consensual." As for what she took from the whole debacle, the singer said that the experience helped her learn to establish "healthy boundaries."

However, she noted that it was "such a fun night" and mentioned that there are times when things would call for having boundaries, which can sometimes differ from professional boundaries.

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The singer concluded the interview by stating that she's putting everything into her art, before teasing a new album, which she said is already finished.