Months before Lizzo found herself at the center of a 𝑠e𝑥ual harassment and body shaming lawsuit by three former dancers, 14 of her dancers reportedly received settlement payments relating to footage that appeared in the 2022 documentary Love, Lizzo.According to the Los Angeles Times, there was a scene included in the doco that featured a group of Lizzo’s dancers talking candidly about their experiences as Black, plus-sized performers during rehearsals for Lizzo’s 2019 Video Music Awards performance.
In January, the dancers’ manager Slay Smiles raised a dispute with the co-producer of the doco, Boardwalk Pictures, that alleged that the dancers had not given their consent for the filming, nor did they have any knowledge that the footage would be used for the doco. The email sent on behalf of the dancers also claimed that they weren’t paid for their appearance in the doco, as per the Los Angeles Times.
(Image Source: Stories / Mike Coppola)
In the email, Smiles said that they believed the dancers had been “exploited” by the documentary and that it wasn’t fair that they weren’t provided with a contract for the behind-the-scenes footage caught by the documentary team.“After seeing all of the videos, I’m sure you realize how sensitive and private the dialogue was for the talent involved,” Smiles wrote in the email, as verified by The Los Angeles Times.“This was supposed to be a safe space to express and share with the Principal talent [Lizzo], so by sharing this unauthorized footage to the public without their approval/permission, has truly exploited these women and violated the emotional safety they had in those moments.”
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Alan Brunswick, an attorney for Boardwalk Pictures, told The Los Angeles Times that the footage taken by the documentary team was “captured openly” with their consent.“They all knew the cameras were there. I don’t think the documentary was even contemplated at that point,” Brunswick said.However, in February, this dispute was settled with Boardwalk Pictures, a “Lizzo entity” and other parties signing settlements with the dancers. According to the publication, which claimed to have reviewed copies of the agreements, the dancers released their rights to the footage and were paid for their appearance in the doco. The settlement also included a non-disparagement confidentiality clause preventing the dancers from speaking about the settlement with third parties, as per Pitchfork.Lizzo’s attorney, Martin Singer, said that the singer “had nothing to do with it and knew nothing about it.”
This settlement came around six months before Lizzo was hit with a lawsuit by three of her former dancers earlier this month.PEDESTRIAN.TV is not suggesting that the two lawsuits are connected.The former employees, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez, allege that the rapper subjected them to 𝑠e𝑥ually denigrating behaviour, extreme working conditions, and weight-shaming across a series of incidents.Lizzo has publically spoken out about the lawsuit and these claims in a lengthy Instagram post in which she refers to the allegations as “false” and “outrageous”.
Since the most recent lawsuit has been filed, more people have come forward with claims about the singer. However, a group of Lizzo’s current dancers have shared a statement supporting her.
