- In the latest episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer, Lizzo addressed the sexual harassment lawsuit made against her by three ex-dancers
- The “Truth Hurts” singer denied that all three of the dancers were there with her at the Bananenbar sex show
- Lizzo claimed the night was “wild,” but “very consensual”
Lizzo has addressed the sexual harassment lawsuit made against her by three ex-dancers and an incident that allegedly took place at a club called Bananenbar, where attendees can interact with the nude performer.
In the latest episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer on Thursday, Dec. 19, the Grammy Award winner, 36, discussed the night in question at the Amsterdam bar with Keke Palmer.
Lizzo told host, 31, that she went to the bar, which features “exotic performers,” on her own.
One of her dancers, whom she said is also her “friend,” was at a birthday dinner for one of the background singers and she asked what Lizzo was doing since they allegedly had “nowhere to go.”
“I was like, ‘What? It’s your birthday. You in Amsterdam. You got nowhere to go, come through,'” Lizzo said.
The “Truth Hurts” singer claims she didn’t know who exactly was coming. “They were like, 17 of us wanna come. I was like, ‘Oh, OK. Pull up.’ That’s my nature,” she recalled.
Added Lizzo: “Everybody came through. We had a great time. There were moments because the performer is very consensual, but she’s also performing. So she’ll ask you. She’ll be like, ‘Would you like to do this? Would you like to do that?’ If you say ‘Yes,’ you do it. If you say ‘No,’ she’s like, ‘OK.’ Moves on.”
The “Water Me” performer said that dynamic “was happening all night.”
“There were moments where there was some wild stuff that happened, but everybody had a great time,” said Lizzo.
She also claimed that there “was no mandatory invitation” to the revue and alleged that only two of the three dancers in the lawsuit attended the Amsterdam club.
“I have to stress how consensual it was because this bar has been like this since 1945,” said Lizzo. “If they were doing things non-consensually, they would have been sued.”
Johnny Nunez/Getty Images
“There is an utter lack of awareness by Lizzo failing to see how these young women on her team who are just starting their careers would feel pressured to accept an invitation from their global celebrity boss who rarely hangs out with them. There is a power dynamic in the boss-employee context that Lizzo utterly fails to appreciate,” attorney Ron Zambrano – who is representing the plaintiffs Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis and Noelle Rodriguez in the lawsuit — told PEOPLE in a statement Thursday.
“We stand by the claims in the lawsuit and are prepared to prove everything in court with Lizzo on the stand under oath before a jury of her peers, not spouting nonsense and lies rationalizing a failure to take accountability on a podcast.”
The full complaint accused Lizzo of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. The suit alleged sexual, religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault and false imprisonment, among other charges. Lizzo has denied all claims.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE in August 2023, Rodriguez said she “was uncomfortable” during that night at the Amsterdam club when Lizzo allegedly “began leading a chant” to get Davis to touch one performer’s breast, despite her desire not to do so, per the suit.
“I was sick to my stomach for Arianna and the embarrassment I saw because she clearly did not want to do it,” Rodriguez told PEOPLE. “But I totally understand how somebody in a position of power could have that power over somebody to make her feel like she had to. When your job is constantly dangled in front of your face every day — and you’re being threatened for termination for these different reasons or accusations that aren’t true — of course you’ll want to make somebody happy and make them feel like, ‘I am a team player.’ I saw how uncomfortable she was and was even the one that was like, ‘You know what, Ari? Let’s go.'”
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In a wide-ranging lawsuit filed in August 2023, three dancers — Williams, Davis and Rodriguez — claimed that they were pressured by Lizzo into touching nude performers while at Bananenbar and were forced to endure weight shaming.
The dancers alleged in their complaint that “Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas.”
Allegedly, the “About Damn Time” hitmaker then “began pressuring” Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude performers, despite the dancer “expressing her desire not to touch the performer.”
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Per the suit, the dancers claimed that Lizzo “badgered the security guard to get on the club’s stage until he submitted to her demands” that night.
“When he got on the stage, his pants were pulled down, exposing his buttocks. Lizzo then began yelling, ‘Take it off!’ while a club performer hit the security guard with whips,” the complaint alleged.
The dancers’ case was put on hold in March after Lizzo appealed a decision by the judge that largely rejected her efforts to dismiss the lawsuit under California’s anti-SLAPP law. The next hearing will be held on Jan. 14.
A hearing in a second lawsuit brought by Lizzo’s former stylist Asha Daniels, who also accused the musician of workplace harassment, found she could not sue Lizzo as an individual. However, Daniels continues to pursue legal action against Lizzo’s touring and payroll companies.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
