scorecard
  1. Home
  2. entertainment
  3. news
  4. Grimes defends Lizzo after singer's former dancers accuse her of sexual harassment, hostile work environment: 'loyalty matters to me'

Grimes defends Lizzo after singer's former dancers accuse her of sexual harassment, hostile work environment: 'loyalty matters to me'

Lauren Edmonds   

Grimes defends Lizzo after singer's former dancers accuse her of sexual harassment, hostile work environment: 'loyalty matters to me'
EntertainmentEntertainment5 min read
  • Grimes defended Lizzo in a series of Twitter posts Sunday.
  • Three of Lizzo's former dancers filed a lawsuit against her on Tuesday.

Grimes derided cancel culture as she defended Lizzo, who was sued last week by three former backup dancers who accuse her of fostering a toxic work environment.

On Sunday, Grimes shared a series of posts on Twitter, now known as X, that praised and supported the "About Damn Time" singer. On Tuesday, the dancers — Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis, and Noelle Rodriguez — filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing Lizzo of sexual harassment, false imprisonment, weight shaming, and treating Black dancers with less respect than their colleagues.

"Not saying I don't believe ppl when bad things happen, but I had dancers mistreated on my watch in ways I didn't find out about until way later," Grimes, who shares two children with X owner Elon Musk, wrote. "Mebe shit is bad. But loyalty matters to me."

Grimes continued that Lizzo was kind to her a decade before she became "cool" and "checked in" on her when "no one else cared."

"I've only ever seen exemplary behavior from her, especially when everyone was hating on me and she was on top of the world," Grimes wrote. "There was no reason for her to check in, besides to be a good person. Just my two cents."

Grimes finished her post by describing her excitement when Lizzo — who she called "an admirable person" — found fame in the music industry.

"I struggle to believe she would have so radically changed," Grimes wrote. "Tired of a culture that seeks to destroy its greatest virtues. Lizzo is amazing."

But some fans continued criticizing Lizzo in Grimes' comments, prompting her to double down on her stance.

"I see a society crumbling under the weight of human imperfection because people can't handle that we all fuck up," Grimes wrote. "I see humans becoming pathetic shadows of themselves, fighting for a fragile acceptance by turning against their friends."

She addressed cancel culture in a separate post, arguing that the "decision to assume guilt without due process" seemed "aggressively destabilizing to public mental health."

"Since it's happened to me many times for things I didn't do, I can no longer accept it at face value," she wrote.

Representatives for Lizzo did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Insider's Haven Orecchio-Egresitz reported the lawsuit also accused Lizzo of hosting a 12-hour rehearsal dubbed a "re-audition" after becoming upset with her dancers over what she deemed unprofessional behavior.

Davis said she needed to use the bathroom during the audition but was so afraid of being fired that she felt she couldn't leave the stage for a break. The lawsuit said Davis later lost control of her bladder while onstage.

Davis "remained on stage, dancing in soiled clothes until there was a brief segment where the dance cast was not part of the onstage performance and were allowed a short break," according to the lawsuit.

On Thursday, Lizzo responded to the lawsuit by sharing a statement on her social media accounts. She called the allegations "outrageous" and "false."

"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," the statement said.


Advertisement

Advertisement