The lawsuits against Lizzo keep piling up as the singer faces a new one for allegedly fostering a hostile work environment.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the singer’s former stylist, Asha Daniels, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.
Daniels designed pieces for the tour dancers and claimed she was “subjected to a culture of racism and bullying” during her time on the road with the Grammy winner.
The lawsuit accuses Lizzo, born Melissa Viviane Jefferson, and her production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc., of sexual and racial harassment, disability discrimination, retaliation and assault.
Within the lawsuit, Daniels describes the tour as an “unsafe, sexually charged workplace culture. She claimed Lizzo and wardrobe manager Amanda Nomura encouraged wrongdoings.
The documents detailed a group message between 30+ members of the BGBT team.
“In the group message, a backstage manager sent a photo graphically depicting male genitalia,” according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges Nomura and fellow tour leaders discussed “hiring sex workers for lewd acts, attending sex shows and buying hard drugs” when the tour ventured into Amsterdam.
Daniels stated there was pressure on her to join in.
One of Lizzo’s tour dancers filed similar allegations in a suit, claiming they were pressured to “touch the breasts” of nude dancers.
Daniels also claimed Nomura was verbally aggressive with the tour employees, while Lizzo and her management team chose not to intervene.
The Hollywood Reporter provided an excerpt of the complaint.
“On several occasions, Nomura made statements and/or took physical actions to threaten Plaintiff and the entire crew: (1) she threatened Plaintiff and others that she would “kill a b***h” and “stab a b***h” when she could not find her medication. (2) she shoved a crew member in retaliation for revealing she was threatening to quit. (3) Nomura snatched food out of a local worker’s hand for merely attempting to take an assigned break.”
Additional shocking details included the staff being “deined breaks” and forced to work intense schedules.
Daniels recalled when Nomura caused her to sprain her ankle while attempting to return a clothing rack.
“Not only was Plaintiff denied medical treatment (on this occasion and others) but was also forced to be on her feet the majority of the day and denied any rest,” the lawsuit states.
Daniels claims she first expressed concerns in February. She stated there was a significant issue with “racial and sexual harassment where Black dancers were being mocked, objectified, and denied accommodations.”
She added that the tour manager, Carlina Gugliotta, completely ignored her complaints.
Daniels was fired before the end of the contract and says she now suffers from anxiety, migraines, brain fog and fatigue due to the alleged misconduct.
Her allegations align with those of a trio of former tour dancers suing the “About Damn Time” singer for interrogating them about their weight and pressuring them to engage in sexually explicit acts at sex shows.
The outlet included a statement from a representative for Lizzo calling the lawsuit an “absurd publicity stunt” to distract from the artist receiving a humanitarian award from the Black Music Action Coalition on Thursday.
The rep stated, “We will pay this as much attention as it deserves. None.”
