Lizzo Faces New Lawsuit Alleging Toxic Workplace Environment

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00:00 Lizzo has been named in another lawsuit by a former employee.

00:06 On Thursday, fashion designer Aisha Daniels' lawyer filed a lawsuit accusing Lizzo and

00:11 several members on her team of allowing bullying, harassment and racial discrimination on her

00:16 tour, according to NBC News.

00:20 In the docs, which were obtained by NBC, Daniels claims Lizzo's wardrobe manager, Amanda Nomura,

00:25 reportedly referred to the performers as "fat, useless and dumb" and forced them to change

00:31 in front of white men on the crew who would "lewdly gawk at them."

00:37 Daniels was hired as a clothing designer and seamstress on Lizzo's tour earlier this year

00:41 and was reportedly fired after she complained about the wardrobe manager, according to the

00:46 lawsuit.

00:47 "I felt like I was living in a madhouse," Daniels told NBC News, adding, "I was listening

00:53 to this black woman on this huge stage have this message of self-love and caring for others

00:57 and being empathetic and being strong and standing up for others, and I was witnessing

01:02 myself, the dancers and the background vocalists and my local team in every city be harassed

01:07 and bullied regularly."

01:08 Lizzo, her tour manager and production company, Big Girl Big Touring, Inc. are also named

01:14 in the suit.

01:15 "Lizzo is the boss, so the buckle stops with her," Daniels' lawyer, Ronson Braino, said

01:21 in a statement obtained by NBC News.

01:25 Hours after the suit was filed, her team responded.

01:27 Stephen Friedman, a spokesperson for Lizzo, wrote in a statement to NBC News, quote, "As

01:32 Lizzo receives the humanitarian award tonight from the Black Music Action Coalition for

01:36 the incredible charitable work she has done to lift up all people, an ambulance-chasing

01:40 lawyer tries to sully this honor by recruiting someone to file a bogus, absurd publicity

01:45 stunt lawsuit who, wait for it, never actually met or even spoke with Lizzo.

01:51 We will pay this as much attention as it deserves.

01:54 None."

01:56 Lizzo is one of several musicians being honored at the 2023 Black Music Action Coalition Gala

02:00 on Thursday.

02:02 NBC News was unable to reach out to Nomura for comment.

02:07 This legal drama comes over a month after three of Lizzo's former dancers filed a lawsuit

02:12 against the singer that includes allegations of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work

02:17 environment and weight shaming.

02:19 Lizzo has since responded to that suit in a statement that says in part, quote, "As

02:24 an artist, I have always been very passionate about what I do.

02:28 I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day, I only want

02:32 to put out the best art that represents me and my fans.

02:36 With passion comes hard work and high standards.

02:39 Sometimes I have to make hard decisions, but it's never my intention to make anyone feel

02:43 uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team."

02:48 The Grammy winner also denied weight shaming anyone, adding, quote, "I am not here to be

02:52 looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media

02:57 have portrayed me to be these last few days.

03:00 I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself, but I cannot accept or allow people

03:04 to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not.

03:08 There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world.

03:12 I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never

03:17 criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight."

03:22 AXIS Hollywood spoke to the three dancers who filed the suit against Lizzo last month,

03:26 a day before Lizzo released her statement, and they candidly told their side of the story.

03:32 "I've been feeling for a long time that they were having a problem with my weight gain.

03:37 She even says that dancers get fired for gaining weight."

03:40 "And you're saying, because you did accuse Lizzo of weight shaming you, so these are

03:46 the sorts of things that she's saying?"

03:47 "These are the sorts of things, and I want to be clear too that in order to weight shame

03:52 someone you don't necessarily have to be like, 'You're fat, you're going to get fired.'

03:56 It was much more of a nuanced thing, like, 'What's wrong with you?'

04:01 She would ask me, 'What's going on with you?

04:03 You seem different.

04:04 You're not like the same as you used to be.'

04:07 Are you ready?"

04:08 "Are you ready?"

04:09 "I'm scared."

04:10 The plaintiffs also claim that at an after-party at a strip club in Amsterdam's Red Light

04:13 District where sexually explicit acts were happening on stage, Lizzo pressured dancers

04:18 to touch the nude performers.

04:19 "I briefly touched the performer and um..."

04:22 "So did you feel pressured to touch against your will?"

04:25 "I absolutely felt pressured.

04:28 Absolutely.

04:30 I didn't want to be there.

04:31 I was there to, you know, be good enough for Lizzo."

04:34 "How did you feel mentally when you actually did that?"

04:38 "I think I went numb, to be honest.

04:42 I've never done anything like that in my life.

04:46 Sorry.

04:47 I just, it's crazy.

04:49 I've never done that."

04:51 "Explain to me the moment when you were fired, Mariam."

04:54 "Oh God.

04:55 When I was fired, she had, it was an ambush meeting, by the way, on our off day.

04:59 We were told to come in to do a measure, to get measurements for wardrobe."

05:04 "I was terminated in the hotel lobby and she wouldn't speak to me either.

05:11 I did request to speak to her, just to kind of get further clarity, because they did it

05:15 under the guise of budget cuts, but then was planning to bring another dancer in less than

05:22 24 hours later, so."

05:23 "So it felt like you were in fact replaced."

05:25 "Yeah, retaliated against her, yeah."

05:28 Rodriguez wasn't fired.

05:30 She later resigned over the alleged appalling behavior.

05:32 "What do you ladies hope to achieve in the end with this lawsuit?"

05:36 "It just feels very good to be a part of something that gave other women and artists,

05:43 I guess the outlet, or the strength to come forward and share their story as well."

05:49 [MUSIC]

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