Lizzo Breaks Silence and Says She Was 'Blindsided' by Sexual Harassment Lawsuit: 'I Did Nothing Wrong'

• On Thursday, Dec. 19, Lizzo broke her silence and addressed the lawsuits she faces on the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast
• She claims she was “blindsided” by the sexual harassment lawsuit from her dancers
• The “Truth Hurts” musician noted that she as an individual was “dismissed” from the second lawsuit from a former stylist

Lizzo is speaking out.

The Grammy Award winner, 36, is the latest guest on the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast on Thursday, Dec. 19, and opened up to Keke Palmer about the lawsuit she faces from three ex-backup dancers since August 2023.

In the interview, Lizzo said she “needed time to process” after a whirlwind 2023 where she had her first arena tour with her Watch Out for the Big Grrrls dancers.

“I was literally living in my dream, and then the tour ended, and three ex-dancers just completely, like, blindsided me with a lawsuit,” she told the host, 31.

Lizzo claims she was “completely surprised” by the complaint.

“I was very deeply hurt because these were three ex-dancers, so they weren’t on the tour. They didn’t, like, finish the tour out with us. But even regardless of that, these were people that I gave opportunities to,” she said.

Added Lizzo: “These were people that — I liked them and appreciated them as dancers, respected them as dancers. So I was like, what? But then I heard all the other things like sexual harassment, and I was like, they’re trying well, I don’t know what they’re trying to do, but these are the types of things that the media can turn into something that it’s not.”

Lizzo explained that she was upset the most by the sexual harassment allegations, but called many of the claims “silly.”

She added that she has “no regrets” but is taking this experience with her on her journey as a boss moving forward.

“Let’s be clear, I did nothing wrong,” Lizzo said.

In August 2023, three of Lizzo’s former backup dancers — Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez — sued the “Truth Hurts” singer for alleged sexual and racial harassment and a hostile work environment, per court documents provided to PEOPLE by the plaintiffs’ law firm at the time.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleged that Lizzo pressured her backup dancers to touch nude performers at an Amsterdam club. They also alleged that Lizzo often weight-shamed them. They claimed that Lizzo’s Big Grrrl touring company subjected them to racial harassment when it allegedly “treated the Black members of the dance team differently than other members.”

Lizzo later broke her silence on the allegations via Instagram, vehemently denying the claims against her.

“My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned,” she wrote in part. “My character has been criticized. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to be addressed.”

She added, “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.”

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A month later, Lizzo was sued again by wardrobe stylist Asha Daniels, who alleged that while the singer preached about body positivity, employees were forced to work in a “racist and sexualized environment.”

“I was witnessing myself, the dancers and the background vocalists and my local team in every city be harassed and bullied regularly,” Daniels told NBC News in September 2023.

Lizzo also denied those allegations, calling them “meritless and salacious” in a motion where she asked for the complaint to be dismissed. She was removed as a defendant in Daniels’ case earlier this month, the BBC and Rolling Stone reported. A judge determined that Daniels could not name Lizzo as an individual since she listed Lizzo’s payroll and touring companies as her employers.

On the podcast, Lizzo said she was “dismissed” from the Daniels lawsuit and that the case was “not dropped.”

“A judge saw this, and in the court of law, he looked at the evidence and said, ‘OK. We can’t allow this to go through,'” she told Palmer, though Daniels’ lawyer Ron Zambrano clarified Lizzo’s explanation of the ruling is incorrect.

“The lawsuit is still very active and has not been dismissed. The ruling was not for lack of evidence, but rather on procedural jurisdictional grounds. It by no means absolves Lizzo of the egregious claims that occurred on her watch,” he said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “All individually named defendants were dismissed because of the jurisdictional limits of Title VII and FLSA claims that no individual can be liable for those claims. Ergo, no individuals, be it Lizzo or the person sweeping the floor behind her, can be a defendant under the FLSA or Title VII. This is the reason Lizzo and her tour manager were dismissed from the case.”

Zambrano added, “It had nothing to do with the merits of the claims. The lawsuit still moves forward against Lizzo’s company, Big Grrl Touring, as to all claims except for the overtime allegation. The Ninth Cause of Action for Unpaid Overtime was also dismissed for jurisdictional, not evidentiary reasons, given claims for unpaid overtime only apply for work done within the United States. Lizzo and her tour manager will still be deposed in connection with the lawsuit.”

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, according to Billboard. The next hearing will be held on Jan. 14. 

“Following up on reporting about comments Lizzo made on a podcast appearance regarding being dismissed from a lawsuit, we just wanted to clarify that Lizzo remains a defendant in the harassment lawsuit filed by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, which is currently being reviewed by the court of appeal,” Zambrano told PEOPLE in a statement Thursday.

In recent days, Lizzo has been focused on her physical and mental health. In April, she suggested she was quitting the music industry. However, she then clarified that it is negativity she’s leaving behind.

She wrote in part on Instagram, “What I’m not going to quit is the joy of my life which is making music, which is connecting with people because I know I’m not alone. In no way shape or form am I the only person who is experiencing that negative voice that seems to be louder than the positive.”

“If I can just give one person the inspiration or the motivation to stand up for themselves and say they quit letting negative people win, negative comments win, then I’ve done even more than I could’ve hoped for,” she continued.

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.