Lizzo Suffers Massive Blow After Sexual Harassment Allegations

Lizzo has suffered a dramatic plummet in social media followers in the days since it was revealed she had been filed with a lawsuit by three of her former dancers.

The musician, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, has been sued by Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, who have accused the star of sexually harassing them and creating a hostile work environment. There have also been allegations of religious and racial harassment, discrimination, false imprisonment, and body shaming.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles and shared with Newsweek by the plaintiffs' law firm on Tuesday, alleges, among other things, that between 2021 and 2023 the complainants were "forced to endure sexually denigrating behavior" and "pressured into participating in disturbing sex shows."

While Lizzo spoke out in an Instagram post on Thursday to deny the allegations leveled against her, figures from Social Blade show that the singer has been hemorrhaging followers on the platform following the allegations.

Figures show that in recent weeks, Lizzo had been gaining followers (mostly in the thousands) every day until August 1, when the allegations first came too light. On that day, the star lost 7,125 followers.

This downward trend has continued on each day since, with her biggest loss (132,942) coming on August 3, the day in which she defended herself against the allegations. By the early hours of August 4, Lizzo had already lost another 22,139 followers. Her current tally of followers 13.4 million, down from July 31's pre-lawsuit figure of 13.6 million.

A slightly different picture is painted on Lizzo's Twitter account, where she had fluctuated between losing and gaining followers in the days before the lawsuit was made public. However, the losses went from mostly being in the low hundreds to an exodus of 7,516 Twitter accounts on August 1, starting the downward turn.

Lizzo's biggest loss from her Twitter audience came on Thursday, when 8,099 accounts unfollowed her. In the early hours of August 4, she had already lost 3,323 followers. Her current tally stands at 2.2 million.

Over on TikTok, the star gained 100,000 followers on July 31, the day before the lawsuit was announced, only to lose the same number on August 1. She lost the same amount again on August 3, bringing her tally down to 26.9 million.

Since the lawsuit was made public, a number of people who previously worked with Lizzo have also alleged that they had negative experiences with the star. These include dancer Courtney Hollinquest, creative director Quinn Wilson, and filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison, each of whom has seen modest boosts to their respective social media follower counts since sharing their allegations.

On Thursday morning, Lizzo addressed the allegations that were leveled against her in a statement posted to Instagram. In her statement, Lizzo denied the claims, while also saying that they were "sensationalized stories [...] coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional."

Elsewhere in her statement, the star added that "it's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team."

Shortly after the post was shared on social media, Los Angeles attorney Ron Zambrano, who is representing the plaintiffs, told Newsweek that Lizzo's statement has only served to "minimize the trauma she has caused."

"Lizzo has failed her own brand and has let down her fans," Zambrano said. "Her denial of this reprehensible behavior only adds to our clients' emotional distress.

"The dismissive comments and utter lack of empathy are quite telling about her character and only serve to minimize the trauma she has caused the plaintiffs and other employees who have now come forward sharing their own negative experiences."

Zambrano, a partner and employment litigation chair at West Coast Employment Lawyers, added: "While Lizzo notes it was never her intention 'to make anyone feel uncomfortable,' that is exactly what she did to the point of demoralizing her dancers and flagrantly violating the law."

For her part, Lizzo said in her statement on Thursday that "[sometimes] I have to make hard decisions but it's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team."

"I am not here to be looked at as the victim," she went on. "But I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days. I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not.

"There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight. I'm hurt but I will not let the good work I've done in the world be overshadowed by this."

Lizzo's production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. has also been accused of racial discrimination as Black members of the dance troupe were "treated differently" to other members of the team, the lawsuit alleges. The company was behind Lizzo's 2022 reality competition Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls on Amazon Prime.

Two of the three dancers said they met Lizzo during the production of the reality show in March 2021.

Grammy winner Lizzo's dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, has been accused in the lawsuit of deriding those who had engaged in premarital sex, while also discussing her sex life with her husband.

The lawsuit names Lizzo, her production company and Quigley as defendants. Not all claims were brought against each of the defendants.

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