Is Lizzo intimidating her accusers? Former dancers slam plus-size icon's plan to countersue
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Lizzo's former back-up dancers, Crystal Williams, 24, Noelle Rodriguez, 25, and Arianna Davis, 26, who are currently suing her for sexual harassment, have criticized the star's intention to counter-sue, labeling it as an "insidious attempt at intimidation."
The trio is alleging that the Grammy-winning artist, 35, subjected them to sexual and racial harassment, and created a hostile work environment. They claim that the plus-sized pop icon forced them to attend degrading sex shows during a European tour in February and March.
Lizzo is accused of 'bullying and victim shaming'
"Lizzo’s threat to countersue for malicious prosecution is an insidious attempt at intimidation and delivers a chilling effect to all harassment victims in the workplace," attorney Ron Zambrano, who represents the three accusers, told Daily Mail in a statement.
"The scare tactics, bullying and victim shaming coming from Lizzo’s team is exactly the behavior employees face in the entertainment industry who feel they have no choice but to ‘suck it up’ for access and success.
The attorney said the singer is "trying to scare others from coming forward following the predictable path of promising a second trauma heaped upon them if they have the nerve to speak out."
"Her team is merely trying to suppress the truth and hide her hypocrisy of publicizing her brand as one of empowerment and body positivity while privately depriving women of their empowerment," he added.
Citing Lizzo, Zambrano said 'this sort of behavior is pervasive in the entertainment industry.'
"That doesn’t make it right, and it’s still illegal. The entire point of employment law is to enable victims to speak freely without fear of intimidation, a nuance wholly missed by Lizzo and her team who have comfortably slipped into the 'you’re the problem, not me' script," he added.
"Lizzo is emblematic of the overall issue with harassers and abusers who try to silence their accusers. To all victims, we assure you that you no longer have to remain silent. Fight back."
Plaintiffs claim 'mountains of evidence' against Lizzo
Neama Rahmani, also acting for the three plaintiffs, added, "Singer has no legal grounds to countersue on behalf of Lizzo, and by doing so, he would actually have to step inside a courtroom and expose his client and her lies to cross-examination at trial."
"We have mountains of evidence and more people coming forward each day independently supporting the plaintiffs’ allegations. He may be referring to the lawsuit against Lizzo as a ‘sham’ but the only thing that is a sham here is Singer's media strategy of shaming the victims. We’ll take the moral high ground and fight for what’s right," she said.