The 'Truth Hurts' singer was sued by former backup dancers sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment in August 2023
Allegations against Lizzo are ‘really damaging’: Attorney Andrew Stoltmann
Attorney Andrew Stoltmann unpacks the allegations against singer Lizzo on ‘Fox News Live.’
Lizzo has seemingly quit music.
On Friday, the "Truth Hurts" singer shared an emotional message on Instagram in which she announced she's stepping back from the industry after years of facing online criticism.
"I'm getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet," Lizzo wrote. "All I want is to make music and make people happy and help the world be a little better than how I found it. But I'm starting to feel like the world doesn't want me in it."
LIZZO SUED BY FORMER BACKUP DANCERS, ACCUSED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ‘FAT-PHOBIC’ TREATMENT
Lizzo says she's tired of online criticism. (Sarah Morris/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
"I'm constantly up against lies being told about me for clout & views … being the butt of the joke every single time because of how I look … my character being picked apart by people who don't know me and disrespecting my name," she continued.
"I didn't sign up for this s---," she added. "I QUIT."
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The message comes eight months after the singer was accused of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment in a lawsuit filed by three former backup dancers.
The dancers claimed they were pressured to touch a nude performer at an Amsterdam nightclub, endure an "excruciating" audition after claims of unprofessionalism and drinking on the job, and that they were prevented from finding work outside the tour, according to documents filed in August and obtained by Fox News Digital at the time.
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The singer was previously accused of sexual harrassment. (Rune Hellestad - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
"The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing," the lawyer for the plaintiffs, Ron Zambrano, said in a statement.
Lizzo denied the allegations with a post shared to Instagram.
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"These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional," she wrote. "With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team."
Lizzo has denied all allegations that she participated in any sexual harassment. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy )
"I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days," she added.
Nearly two months later, costume designer Asha Daniels - who designed costumes for the pop star's 2023 tour - accused Lizzo of creating a "sexualized and racially charged" work environment.
According to a lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital at the time, Daniels accused Lizzo's wardrobe manager Amanda Nomura of bullying and harassment.
Nomura allegedly forced performers to change in front of men, who would "lewdly gawk" at them. She was also accused of doing impressions of Black women in front of the performers and referring to them as "fat," "useless" and "dumb."
"Lizzo is the boss, so the buck stops with her. She has created a sexualized and racially charged environment on her tours that her management staff sees as condoning such behavior, and so it continues unchecked," Daniels' lawyer, Ronald Zambrano, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Lizzo certainly knows what’s going on but chooses not to put an end to this disgusting and illegal conduct and participates herself."
A representative for Lizzo called the lawsuit an "absurd publicity stunt" in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.
Christina Dugan Ramirez is a freelance entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.
