Beyoncé Seems To Skip Lizzo's Name During Performance After Dancer Lawsuit

Beyoncé seemingly left Lizzo's name out of the lyrics of one of her hit tracks during a concert performance on Tuesday, hours after a sexual harassment lawsuit against the singer was made public.

Grammy winner Beyoncé has name-checked a number of iconic performers in her track "Break My Soul (Queens Remix)," with Lizzo making the cut alongside the likes of Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill and Bette Davis. However, video footage shows that Lizzo's name was apparently omitted when Beyoncé performed the track during her Renaissance World Tour stop in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

It comes after the news that Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, has been sued by three of her former dancers, who have accused the musician of sexually harassing them and creating a hostile work environment.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles and shared with Newsweek by the plaintiffs' law firm, also alleges that Lizzo pressured one of the complainants to touch a nude performer at a club in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

While Lizzo has become known for celebrating body positivity, it was also claimed that she drew attention to the weight gain of one of the dancers, whom she is later said to have berated and fired.

As details of the lawsuit circulated on Tuesday, Beyoncé took to the stage at Foxborough's Gillette Stadium, where she ran through a number of her biggest and most recent hits, including "Break My Soul (Queens Remix)."

A member of the audience took footage of the performance, which showed Beyoncé name-checking the women on her track as usual. However, instead of mentioning Lizzo, the OP says Beyoncé said Erykah Badu's name four times instead.

While it is not publicly known whether Beyoncé may have skipped Lizzo's name in light of the lawsuit, a number of Twitter users weighed in when the brief clip was shared on the platform.

"Reminds me of high school and how [your] friends quickly turn against you the moment there's a scandal," wrote one, while another countered by saying the clip showed that Beyoncé "is on the correct side like she always is."

Other Twitter users pointed out that Beyoncé's repeated mentioning of Badu's name may have actually been a swipe at the veteran musician, after Badu suggested that the star has been emulating her style.

"I'm crying because this could be Beyoncé being petty giving Erykah Badu the credit she's been asking for or saying she's not apart of that Lizzo mess or both," commented one fan. "Let's see what happens next show."

Another pointed out that Beyoncé's omission of certain names could well have been coincidental because of her constant tweaking of the lyrics of the song.

Sharing a clip of Beyoncé performing the track in East Rutherford, New Jersey, they explained: "This video was may 30th (she doesn't say Betty Davis, Lizzo, Diana, Aretha, Anita or Erykah Badu). Sometimes she skips names from the song. If anything her saying 'Badu' x4 seems like more shade towards Erykah and nothing to do with Lizzo."

According to the New York Post, Badu took to her Instagram Story on Monday and wrote "Hmmm," alongside a photo of Beyoncé sporting a large metallic hat onstage, similar in style to hats Badu has been known to wear over the years.

"I guess I'm everybody stylist," Badu wrote, as she shared a photo of herself wearing a strikingly similar hat.

She is also reported to have said "I'm flattered" in a comment on an Instagram post by Beyoncé in which she was shown posing in the metallic hat.

When the "Break My Soul" remix was unveiled, avowed Beyoncé fan Lizzo shared an Instagram post in which she expressed her joy at being name-checked.

"In that moment I was thinking about baby me, listening to 'Happy Face' by Destiny's Child and crying myself to sleep because of bullies," she wrote. "I thought about Beyoncé jumping into the room where Tina Turner was waiting to meet her for the first time.

"I think of what we all mean to people and how cyclical it is," she added. "We are all so infinitesimally and maximally connected and significant. It's an honor. Thank You @beyonce."

Elsewhere in the lawsuit filed against Lizzo, the star's dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, is accused of deriding those who had engaged in premarital sex, while also discussing her alleged masturbatory habits and sex life with her husband.

The suit, which names Lizzo, her production company and Quigley as defendants, also includes accusations of racial and religious harassment and false imprisonment, among other allegations. Not all claims were brought against each of the defendants.

"The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing," the complainants' lawyer Ron Zambrano said in a statement shared with Newsweek.

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Lizzo, Quigley, Beyoncé and Badu via email for comment.