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Melissa Viviane Jefferson, better known as Lizzo, an American rapper, has responded to numerous of her tour dancers alleging sexual harassment against her, calling their claims “sensationalized stories.”
Earlier this week, three of the singer’s tour dancers filed a complaint alleging that Lizzo sexually assaulted them and created a hostile work environment.
According to the Guardian UK, she allegedly created an uncomfortable work environment through sexual, racial, and religious harassment in a series of instances between 2021 and 2023.
Lizzo said the “last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing” in a lengthy statement posted on social media on Thursday.
“My work ethic, morals, and respectability have all been called into question.” “My character has been criticized,” she added, adding that she was only speaking out because of “false allegations,” which she described as “as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to address.”
“These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that their behavior on tour was deemed inappropriate and unprofessional,” she added.
The 35-year-old stressed that it was never her “intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or as if they aren’t valued as an important member of the team.”
“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,” she explained.
According to the lawsuit, Lizzo allegedly encouraged a dancer to touch a naked performer at a bar and forced numerous dancers to participate in a “excruciating” 12-hour audition.
Shirlene Quigley, the singer’s dance captain, is also accused of pushing her Christian ideas on artists and disparaging those who had premarital sex.
According to the Guardian UK, Quigley faked oral sex, discussed a performer’s virginity, and overshared “her masturbatory habits and sex life with her husband.”
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