Back in 2023, it was a big news story when three of Lizzo's former backup dancers sued her for sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment, disability discrimination, and a litany of other accusations. A judge dismissed some of the claims that followed in one of the other former employees who subsequently came forward with their own similar filings last year, but the original case was allowed to move ahead toward a jury trial, and Lizzo's legal team are now urging an appeals court to overturn the ruling.
As Billboard reports, an opening brief filed in May sees the artist's lawyers argue that the way she treated the dancers — which included alleged racism and fat-shaming, as well as pressuring them to touch nude performers at a sex show in Amsterdam and publicly discussing one plaintiffs' virginity — was part of her "creative process," and consequently shielded by constitutional protections for free speech.
"Plaintiffs' suit [is] an attack on Lizzo's First Amendment right to perform her music and advocate for body positivity," Lizzo's attorneys, including prominent Hollywood defence attorney Marty Singer, wrote. "Rather than accept personal accountability, plaintiffs filed this shotgun action, taking aim at nearly every facet of Lizzo's creative process."
The musician's legal team emphasized that the strip club incident in Amsterdam was an entirely optional outing, but that social gatherings during international tours are "critical to team building and fostering cohesion" within Lizzo's touring party. They argue that moving ahead with the case sets a dangerous precedent for court involvement in any creative's artistic approach.
"Judges must not dissect the creative process to determine what was necessary to achieve the final product and what was not," the lawyers wrote. "By rejecting the artist's proven experience for what is necessary to, and best enhances, her own art, the trial court stepped far outside its role."
Rom Zambrano, lead legal counsel for the dancers, responded in a statement to Billboard that he and his clients stand by the claims and are looking forward to their day in court, saying, "Lizzo has been trying and failing repeatedly to get this case dismissed because she does not want to face a jury of her peers explaining how she created such an egregious and unlawful work environment for our clients."