Facing a Lawsuit, Lizzo Denies Creating a Hostile Work Environment
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1988-present
Lizzo Today: Denies Lawsuit Accusations from Former Dancers
Three of Lizzo’s former dancers filed a lawsuit against the singer on Tuesday, August 1, accusing her of creating a hostile work environment and exposing them to “an overtly sexual atmosphere that permeated their workplace.” The dancers claimed Lizzo sexually harassed and weight-shamed them, making sexually explicit remarks, encouraging them to touch nude nightclub performers, and demanding dancers explain their weight gains and eating disorders. Two days later, Lizzo denied the accusations, calling them “sensationalized stories” from “former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”
Who Is Lizzo?
Lizzo is a four-time Grammy Award winner who has created hit songs like “Good as Hell,” “Truth Hurts,” “Juice,” and “Rumors” with rapper Cardi B. Her first major label album, Cuz I Love You (2019), made it into Billboard’s Top 10. Her song “About Damn Time” from the 2022 album Special won the Grammy for Record of the Year, making Lizzo the first Black woman to win the award since Whitney Houston in 1994. Before making her mark in rap and pop, Lizzo was on track to become an orchestral flutist, and she still plays the flute in samples on her albums as well as live performances.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Melissa Viviane “Lizzo” Jefferson
BORN: April 27, 1998
BIRTHPLACE: Detroit, Michigan
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Taurus
Early Life and Family
Lizzo was born in Detroit on April 27, 1988. Her real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, but most know her by her stage name. Lizzo combines a childhood nickname of Lissa and the Jay-Z song “Izzo.”
Lizzo’s family was part of a Pentecostal church, and due to their faith, gospel music held sway in their household. Lizzo’s parents also listened to Elton John, Queen, and Stevie Wonder. When Lizzo was 9, her family moved to Houston. There, she has said, her horizons expanded to include Destiny’s Child, Missy Elliott, and twerking.
In fifth grade, Lizzo started playing the flute, an instrument she became devoted to and eventually played in her high school marching band. Although the flute was her focus, Lizzo also rapped. She was writing rhymes as a teenager and formed groups with her friends.
From Classical Music to Rap and Rock
Lizzo’s flute skills resulted in a scholarship to the University of Houston, where she studied music performance. She initially planned to continue her studies at the Paris Conservatory and eventually play in concert halls.
In addition to hours of flute practice, Lizzo continued to rap and perform in shows while in college. By her junior year, she decided to leave school to focus on making her name in the music industry. She explained on the radio program Fresh Air, “I was like, ‘I’m already performing. What do I need a music performance degree for?’ And I just stopped.”
Lizzo joined a prog-rock band, in which she sang and sometimes played her flute. Her family had relocated to Denver, so she was on her own as she tried to launch her career in Houston. Lizzo lived in her car, sometimes slept on floor of her recording studio and showered at the gym.
When Lizzo was 20, her father passed away. The two had been close, and it was a devastating loss. She left the prog-rock band in 2010, after her father’s death. Following a brief stop in Denver, Lizzo moved to Minneapolis in 2011 at the invitation of a friend. She was soon ensconced in that city’s music scene. She performed with the girl groups Chalice and GRRRL PRTY. Her first album, Lizzobangers, came out in 2013 on an independent label.
While living in Minneapolis, Lizzo was encouraged by local rock icon Prince. She appeared on his album Plectrumelectrum (2014) and performed at his parties. “To be embraced by Prince, I am eternally grateful for that,” she said in 2020.
Another Lizzo album, Big Grrrl Small World, arrived in 2015. Soon afterward, she signed with Atlantic Records. Following a move to Los Angeles, Lizzo released the EP Coconut Oil (2016). She also started hosting Wonderland, a live music show on MTV, and opened for Sleater-Kinney and Florence + the Machine on tour.
The single “Truth Hurts” came out in 2017. When the song didn’t make an impact, Lizzo considered leaving music. The pressures of work led her to become emotionally drained in 2018 and to seek therapy.
Breakthrough Success
Using her full vocal abilities had been a struggle for Lizzo because “the big Black girls were always the belters, and I’ve always been afraid of being put into that box.” Her range was demonstrated on Cuz I Love You (2019), the first album she made for a major label. Inspired in part by Lizzo’s own relationship heartbreak, the record had it all: ballads, compelling raps, and songs perfect for dancing at the club.
Cuz I Love You made it into the Billboard Top 10. The tour for the album sold out, so Lizzo scheduled more dates. Then “Truth Hurts,” the underperforming single, was featured in a movie and finally became a hit, giving Lizzo her first No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. She became the first Black solo female R&B artist to reach that top position since Rihanna in 2012 for “Diamonds.”
In addition to her blockbuster album and platinum singles—“Truth Hurts,” “Good as Hell,” and “Juice”—Lizzo wowed the 2019 Met Gala in a brilliant pink gown and received a standing ovation from Rihanna and others after singing “Truth Hurts” at that year’s BET Awards. She also had a role in the movie Hustlers (2019).
For the 62nd Grammy Awards, Lizzo received eight nominations, the most for any artist that year. She won three awards: Best Pop Solo Performance for “Truth Hurts,” Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Jerome,” and Best Urban Contemporary Album for Cuz I Love You.
In 2020, Lizzo signed a deal with Amazon Studios to work on content for Amazon Prime Video. Her first project was the reality series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, in which women competed to be her backup dancers. The series won three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Competition Program.
International Star
“Rumors,” from Lizzo and Cardi B, arrived in 2021. It was the first single Lizzo had put out since 2019, and its release unleashed negative comments on social media. “It’s fatphobic, it’s racist, and it’s hurtful,” Lizzo declared on Instagram Live of the comments. “What I won’t accept is y’all doing this to Black women over and over and over again, especially us big Black girls. When we don’t fit into the box that you want to put us in, you just unleash hatred onto us.”
In July 2022, Lizzo released her fourth album, Special, which included the singles “About Damn Time,” “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready),” and “Special.” It reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, with “About Damn Time” reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album received positive reviews from critics. Variety said it “immediately locked in as one of the leading album of the year candidates,” and The Guardian wrote that it “transformed Lizzo from an alternative hip-hop curio to a recognised star.” Special was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards in February 2023, and “About Damn Time” won Record of the Year, making Lizzo the first Black woman to win the award since Whitney Houston in 1994.
Self-Image and Body Positivity
“I was body negative for a long time,” Lizzo has admitted. Ultimately, she realized that “to continue to live in this body and survive in this body and be happy and actually enjoy life, I need to find a way to like myself.” Yet Lizzo is wary of some of the plaudits she’s received for body positivity. “I don’t like it when people think it’s hard for me to see myself as beautiful,” she told Glamour. “I don’t like it when people are shocked that I’m doing it.”
“Body positivity only exists because body negativity is the norm,” Lizzo has stated. She hopes acceptance of all kinds of bodies will eventually be normalized and expand beyond entertainment, saying, “There’s a plus-sized Black girl at the Grammys. But plus-size Black women are still not getting the treatment they deserve in hospitals and from doctors and at work, you know what I mean?”
Boyfriend
Lizzo confirmed in April 2022 she is in a romantic relationship with Myke Wright, a comedian. The two have known each other for a long time and cohosted the MTV music series Wonderland together in 2016.
Controversies: Crystal Flute and Lawsuit from Former Dancers
Lizzo went through a copyright dispute about “Truth Hurts,” though a lawsuit against her was dismissed. She did give a credit to the woman who’d tweeted a version of the song’s opening line.
Lizzo made further headlines in 2022 when she played a crystal flute previously owned by President James Madison at the Library of Congress in Washington, as well as during her concert in the district.
In August 2023, three of Lizzo’s former dancers filed a lawsuit against the singer. The lawsuit accuses Lizzo and the captain of her dance team of creating a hostile work environment during her 2023 tour, claiming the dancers were “exposed to an overtly sexual atmosphere that permeated their workplace.” The dancers claimed Lizzo sexually harassed and weight-shamed them, making sexually explicit remarks, encouraging them to touch nude nightclub performers, and demanding dancers explain their weight gains and eating disorders. “The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly,” the lawsuit reads. Earlier this year, two of the dancers suing Lizzo were fired, and the other resigned.
Lizzo denied the accusations, calling them “sensationalized stories” from “former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.” She added: “There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.”
Quotes
I am brown, I am Black, I am curvy, and I am perfect and beautiful.
I would like to be body-normative. I want to normalize my body. And not just be like, ‘Ooh, look at this cool movement. Being fat is body positive.’ No, being fat is normal. I think now, I owe it to the people who started this to not just stop here. We have to make people uncomfortable again, so that we can continue to change. Change is always uncomfortable, right?
It’s not a political statement. It’s just my body.
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