Jacob Webster
SZA is sharing her love for Lizzo amid a harassment lawsuit filed by three of the singer’s former dancers in August.
In a new interview with the magazine rolling stoneSZA declined to comment directly on the legal issues, but she has positive things to say about her good friend and musical collaborator. “I’m just saying that based on the values and the energy that I see in my friend, I really think she’s a beautiful person,” she said. “I’m just really praying that everyone recovers from this because everyone deserves to heal and feel safe and loved.”
SZA added, “I just really hope everyone feels the same way when this is all said and done. Because that’s the point.”
The lawsuit, filed in August in Los Angeles by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, accuses Lizzo (real name Melissa Jefferson) and her Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. in a wide range of legal offenses and includes dozens of pages of detailed from.
One of the allegations in the lawsuit alleges that Lizzo encouraged dancers to attend a sex show in Amsterdam’s famous red light district and then forced them to interact with the performers. The lawsuit also details Lizzo’s alleged outbursts, including a “torturous re-audition” in April after she accused dancers of “drinking alcohol before performances”; one dancer claims the ordeal went on so long that she wet herself because she was afraid she would be fired if she left the stage. The case also alleges that Lizzo repeatedly told dancers that “none of their jobs are safe” and expressed “thinly veiled concerns” about dancers’ weight gain.
Lizzo denied the claims in a response posted on Twitter, calling them “false accusations” and “sensational stories.”