Pop star Lizzo has spoken out after news broke of a lawsuit brought against her and her company by three of her former dancers.
The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles accuses the Grammy Award-winner and her team of sexual, religious and racial harassment, discrimination, assault and false imprisonment.
"These last few days have been gut-wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing," Lizzo, 35, posted on Instagram on Thursday. "My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticised.
"Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations, but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to be addressed," she goes on to say, then ends the post by thanking her supporters.
"I'm hurt but I will not let the good work I've done in the world be overshadowed by this."
Lizzo is known for her colourful personality, feminist stance and for embracing body positivity.
Among the many claims, Lizzo is accused of berating a dancer for her weight gain.
The lawsuit also accuses Lizzo’s dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, of pushing her Christian beliefs upon other performers.
"Nobody speaks up because they're so scared for their jobs. I was terrified for my job," Arianna Davis, one of the accusers, told CBS.
Crystal Williams, another accuser, said she decided to join the lawsuit to prevent her ex-colleagues from suffering.
"If there's anything that I can do in my power to ensure that dancers or singers or whoever decides to work with her don't have to go through that same experience, I'm going to do that," she said.
Davis and Williams claim they were both sacked, while a third accuser, Noelle Rodriguez, said she resigned over the alleged treatment of the other two.
Ron Zambrano, who is representing the three women, said: “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 demoralising.”
Who is Lizzo?
Lizzo earned global fame with the release of her third album Cuz I Love You in 2019. This led to the revival of her 2017 single Truth Hurts, which went viral on TikTok, leading her to re-release it, eventually earning her first Billboard No 1 song in 2019.
At the 2020 Grammy Awards, she won three trophies for Cuz I Love You – Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best Pop Solo Performance (Truth Hurts) and Best Traditional R&B Performance (Jerome).
At this year's Grammys, she won Record of the Year for About Damn Time, from her fourth album Special, and played the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in June.
She had been on tour for much of this year, in support of Special, playing her last show in Japan on July 30.
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Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
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Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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