LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Global hitmaker Lizzo, born Melissa Jefferson and her Big Grrrl Big Touring Company have been hit with another lawsuit by another former employee that alleges racial and sexual harassment, assault and illegal retaliatory termination, among other things. The case was filed Thursday (September 22) in Los Angeles Superior Court, and ET.com reports Lizzo received the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award from the Black Music Action Coalition on Thursday night.
The suit is being brought forth by former employee Asha Daniels, a clothing designer who worked on Lizzo’s recent tour. Her lawsuit also names the wardrobe manager working on that tour, Amanda Nomura and tour manager Carlina Gugliotta. Still, it makes general allegations about the working conditions by Lizzo and her entire management team.
This follows the lawsuit filed last month by three former members of Lizzo’s dance team, who also made allegations of sexual harassment and claimed Lizzo fostered toxic working conditions where they were the victims of taunts, racism and weight-shaming.
In the new filing, Daniels says that – given how Lizzo talks about diversity and positivity in public – she was expecting to work in a “healthy, diverse environment with virtues of respect and empowerment of women. Unfortunately, the opposite turned out to be true”.
A black woman, Daniels claims she was forced to hear “racist and fatphobic comments from Nomura” while witnessing her “mock both Lizzo and Lizzo’s background dancers on multiple occasions.” Speaking of one incident, Daniels describes how Nomura rolled a heavy rack of clothing over her foot, causing pain.
CBSNews.com reports that when Daniels tried to sit down to deal with that pain, Nomura “proceeded to shove plaintiff into the rack of clothing.” And then, the next day, Daniels was told that she wasn’t allowed to wear more comfortable shoes that would minimize the pain from the previous day’s injury.
Echoing complaints in the earlier lawsuit filed by Lizzo’s dancers, Daniels also says that those working on the tour were pressured to attend social gatherings where nudity and sexuality were focal points. Plus, on one occasion, images of male genitalia were inappropriately shared on a group text sent to the tour crew, but “Lizzo’s management found the image to be comical.”
Daniels says she formally complained to tour manager Gugliotta, who was apologetic and confirmed that everyone knew “Nomura is crazy.” But, Gugliotta added, Nomura was too hard to replace and now wanted Daniels to be removed from the tour for “speaking up.” Daniels was subsequently fired from her position.
Daniels also claims in the lawsuit she was instructed to “not dress attractively” in front of Lizzo and told she shouldn’t interact with her or her boyfriend. According to the case, Daniels said she experienced anxiety, PTSD, migraines, ocular distortions, brain fog and fatigue due to her termination.
Lizzo has strongly denied all the allegations made in the first lawsuit. But lawyers on both cases say that “we’ve heard from more than two dozen former Lizzo employees sharing similar stories of abuse and harassment.”
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