Oh Lizzo...

A Rant

I don’t want to write this. In fact, I would rather be doing anything other than writing this. Yesterday when the news broke of the lawsuit against Lizzo, before even reading the articles coming out about the lawsuit, I put my phone down to get in some much needed “stare at the ceiling” time. However, curiosity go the best of me and I read the U.S. news article. “Former Lizzo dancers were weight-shamed and pressured while at strip club, lawsuit says”, it read. My stomach sank and as I read further, it churned.

According to U.S. news, three former dancers of Lizzo’s are suing her, her dance captain, and her production team for a myriad of reasons including sexual and religious harassment, creating a hostile work environment, and false imprisonment. The article also includes harrowing accounts of a brutal 12 - hour rehearsal the dancers claim they were forced to undergo and an account of being forced to interact with a dancer at an Amsterdam strip club against their will. Needless to say, this is all incredibly disappointing. Since she first burst onto the national scene with hits like “Juice” and “Truth Hurts”, Lizzo has been a beacon of light and positivity for a lot of fans around the world. Her body-positive image and funny relatability appealed to a lot of people and made Lizzo feel sincere and genuine. She was a breath of fresh air in an American music scene filled with sarcastic and hostile personalities. Even in the face of public shaming and backlash for simply existing in her body, Lizzo never let any of it stop her and she inspired fans of all sizes to do the same.

So it is so upsetting to face the reality that all of that positivity and brightness may have been a façade. That the Lizzo we know doesn’t and never existed and that she’s a horrible monster behind it all. At least, that’s what the hoards of, “See I always knews” online have to say about it. Across all social media, people have come together to rejoice in Lizzo’s “downfall” and share when they knew something was “wrong” with Lizzo. So far I’ve had the displeasure of seeing, “Remember when she had her ass out at the Lakers game, y’all didn’t know then”, and “Look at the lyrics of her song ‘Rumors’ she admitted it”, and finally, “I’ve been waiting for someone to get her big ass out of here”. These responses express little concern for the dancers but plenty of disdain for Lizzo’s body and appearance. The commentary has also taken on a tone of respectability that I find distracting and disheartening. Oscar-nominated documentarian Sophia Nahli Allison wrote that her spirit said to “run as fast as you fucking can” and that she was treated with disrespect by her. While I don’t want to silence or discredit her, I don’t feel right about these comments being added to the “list of bad things Lizzo has done”, especially when we’re talking about serious allegations of harassment. Not to mention, the assertion that fat people and black women have to constantly perform niceties is a tired troupe that often sets people up for failure because no one can perform forever.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that the entire response to the lawsuit and allegations in the lawsuit have been disingenuous and lacking in nuance of any kind. As if it’s impossible to discuss them without criticizing Lizzo as a fat person or a black woman. It’s disheartening to you look around and realize just how little progress has actually been made. Lizzo has also made a statement regarding the allegations in which she states that the past few days have been “gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing” and while I don’t doubt that, I would’ve liked to see more of an acknowledgement of the dancers in the statement. I can’t imagine coming forward with anything at all about such a beloved performer would be easy and I don’t know if it’s something I could’ve done myself. But I’ll leave you with you this, we should be able to critique and discuss unacceptable behavior of artists without shaming them for their bodies, race, or appearance. I know this situation is messy and upsetting and you may feel like this is another beloved celebrity letting you down in a time where it feels like everything is always letting you down, but we can do better. We do a disservice to ourselves and those who come forward by not being able to and we rob ourselves of the ability to improve anything. Let’s try not to make the circus about the sideshow.