Is Lizzo’s Woke Facade Crumbling in Real Time?
Superstar's progressive bona fides under extreme fire from ex-colleagues
Few singers marry stardom with woke quite like Lizzo.
The multiple Grammy winner is as famous for her chart-topping voice as her fat empowerment bromides. She constantly speaks out against fat shaming, embraces her full figure and attacks those who don’t hold the same views.
“Yes, please be positive about your body,” she said in a 2021 interview. “Please use our movement to empower yourselves. That’s the point. But the people who created this movement — big women, big brown and Black women, queer women — are not benefiting from the mainstream success of it.”
She even changed out a “problematic” lyric last year when some objected to the use of a single word in one of her tracks.
Now, Lizzo is being sued by three backup dancers on several charges, including the “Truth Hurts” singer behaved in a very woke-free manner.
…the dancers — Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez — alleged that they were pressured by Lizzo into touching nude performers while at a club in Amsterdam and were forced to endure weight shaming….
“The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing,” [lawyer Ron] Zambrano said in a statement.
That’s not all.
Filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison, who briefly collaborated with the singer on the 2019 documentary “Love, Lizzo,” is blasting her for being a toxic co-worker. The Oscar-nominated Allison torched Lizzo from her social media accounts.
“In 2019, I traveled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary. I walked away after about 2 weeks … I was treated with such disrespect by her. I witnessed how arrogant, self-centered, and unkind she is.”
Sharing this because validating other Black women’s experiences is deeply important to me. pic.twitter.com/gd2xEK6szq
— Sophia Nahli Allison (@SophiaNAllison) August 1, 2023
to be clear… pic.twitter.com/JU2ZuDoZ9b
— Sophia Nahli Allison (@SophiaNAllison) August 2, 2023
Her second Tweet on the subject said Lizzo was a “narcissistic bully who built her brand off of lies.” She adds the film in question eventually fell into the hands of a “cis white” male director.
So far, Lizzo has remained silent on the matter. This is her most recent Instagram post.
View this post on Instagram
Two days. Two blistering accounts of Lizzo’s work demeanor. Will more follow? Allison suggests the answer is a resounding, “Yes.”
Hollywood infamously holds secrets until one squeezes free. Then, the barn doors blast open. That’s how Ellen DeGeneres’ fall from grace occurred. One person made a shocking allegation about the comic superstar and her show’s toxic work environment.
Suddenly, others feel empowered to do the same.
If that plays out in a similar fashion here, Lizzo’s days as a woke icon could be history.
UPDATE: Lizzo has responded to the accusations via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. 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 to not be addressed….These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”
— FOLLOW @YITTY (@lizzo) August 3, 2023
Lizzo is someone for whom the word “overrated” is too mild. Also, she seems to act like she is above reproach in her behavior. Every time people talk about how she needs to lose weight, she gets butthurt and accuses people(even if it’s a mere matter of concern for her health) of “fat shaming”. I noticed that no MALES who are heavy have that “fat and proud” attitude every Jackie and Jill(or at least many) on the heavy side does.
Nice attempt at deflection in that response Tweet. “former employees who have already admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.” Those employees apparently didn’t admit that their behavior was wrong, just that someone told them as much. That isn’t quite the the devastating response Lizzo’s spin-meisters think it is.
Wow, a mega rich black woman playing the victim? I’m shocked. Well, not that shocked.
Sophia Allison isn’t any better. Uses leftist terms like “womxn” and “cis white man”. More left eating their own.
If she’s wanting to Lizzo….hope she has a big freezer to store the extras