American musician Lizzo is planning a countersuit against former dancers who sued her for alleged sexual, racial and religious harassment as well as poor working conditions earlier this month. The singer’s lawyer claims she plans to countersue for the plaintiffs’ alleged hypocritical behaviour.
On Wednesday, Lizzo’s lawyer Marty Singer shared photos of plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez allegedly “happily cavorting backstage” with performers from Crazy Horse’s topless cabaret show on March 5, 2023, in Paris — after they claimed Lizzo pressured them into attending the performance while on tour in the lawsuit.
“These images showing the three plaintiffs gleefully revelling backstage after the topless show were taken after their February 2023 visit to Bananenbar in Amsterdam that they complain about in their lawsuit,” wrote Singer in a statement, referencing another club where they claimed to have been pressured to attend and touch nude performers.
According to Singer, all three dancers returned to work on Lizzo’s tour following the Paris outing. The following month, Davis allegedly submitted an audition tape to Lizzo’s TV show Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, in which she claimed she wants to “follow in her footsteps.”
“After Ms Davis’s audition video became public, she tried to explain away her glowing comments about Lizzo by claiming the ‘bulk’ of her accusations were based on things that happened later. That excuse is completely contradicted by the facts, including by these images,” continued Singer’s statement.
“These irrefutable photos and videos, along with additional substantial evidence, prove the glaring contradictions between what the plaintiffs claim in their bogus lawsuit and what is actually proven by the facts,” writes Singer. “The lawsuit is a sham. Lizzo intends to sue for malicious prosecution after she prevails and these specious claims are dismissed.”
In the plaintiffs’ lawsuit, their legal team claimed Lizzo invited the dancers to attend the show but “failed to mention when inviting the dancers to this performance was that it was a nude cabaret bar.”
Davis, Williams and Rodriguez’s attorney Neama Rahmani claims in a statement that they “stand by every claim in the lawsuit and look forward to trial” despite the photos.
“Our clients aren’t afraid of Singer or his empty threats or his victim shaming,” Rahmani wrote. “I’ve handled thousands of cases, including prosecuting drug cartels so we have no plans to back down. Let’s see if Singer can actually try a case in a courtroom instead of the media.”
He continues, “We’ve addressed all these instances where the plaintiffs appear to be happy alongside Lizzo during their time working with her. Of course, they wanted to keep their jobs. They had bills to pay just like everyone else but they finally had enough.”
Rahmani refers to Singer’s comments as “victim shaming” and says they don’t “change any facts in the lawsuit.”
“The plaintiffs merely wanted to keep their jobs until they finally had enough. Arianna, Noelle and Crystal were brave enough to come out with their stories and they don’t plan to back down in the face of these bullying tactics by Lizzo’s attorney. Our clients remain steadfast and look forward to their day in court,” she adds in the statement.
Their other lawyer, Ron Zambrano, writes in an additional statement, “We feel extremely confident in this case.”
After the lawsuit was filed earlier this month, Lizzo responded to the claims on social media, stating that she is “not the villain” and that the allegations being made against her were “too outrageous” not to address.
