Lizzo has been abandoned Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show consideration after facing a series of shockers allegations of sexual harassment and fat shaming of former dancers, leaving his team in a desperate struggle to “save their sinking ship” of a career.
Earlier this month, the 35-year-old pop star – who has marketed herself as a body positive activist – found herself at the center of a sensational scandal when three of her former dancers, Crystal Williams, Noelle Rodriguez and Arianna Davisfiled a lawsuit against her, accusing Lizzo of creating a “hostile work environment.”
Now, an NFL insider tells DailyMail.com exclusively that the backlash following the allegations has prompted the organization to immediately remove Lizzo from contention for the Super Bowl Halftime Show, having previously had his name in the mix as a favorite for 2024. show.
“Talk of Lizzo being part of the halftime festivities, or performing the national anthem, has died down now that she’s surrounded by scandal,” the source said in the wake of the allegations, which Lizzo vehemently denies.
Lizzo, 35, was passed over as consideration to perform at the next Super Bowl, which will be held in Las Vegas in February 2024, a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.
Too late? Lizzo’s team is “trying to save their sinking ship” after Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez (seen on GMA) sued the singer for sexual abuse and fat shaming.
As Lizzo is pulled from the potential lineup at this year’s Super Bowl, which will take place in Las Vegas in February 2024, his team faces a desperate fight to save his career and reputation.
A second source close to the singer tells DailyMail.com that her team is “desperately trying to come up with a strategy to save her sinking ship.”
“It’s getting harder and harder with more people accusing him of grossly inappropriate acts,” the music industry insider tells DailyMail.com.
“Lizzo has accumulated a lot of money, but it seems that his minutes have increased and nobody knows if he will be able to recover from this.
“If she speaks, her statements fall apart. If she stays quiet, they call her a coward. Either way, it doesn’t look like she can recover from this at this point,” says the source.
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for both the NFL and Lizzo.
Earlier this week, lawyers representing three of Lizzo’s former backup dancers who filed suit on claims of weight shaming and sexual harassment at work revealed that they now have six other people who have made similar complaints.
Ron Zambrano, an attorney whose practice specializes in employment law and represents backup dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, said his firm is now investigating those claims.
Zambrano said NBC news the six new defendants toured with Lizzo, either as backup dancers or on his Amazon studio show, describing the complaints as surrounding an alleged “sexually charged environment” on Lizzo’s tour and non-payment of employees.
It comes after dancers Davis, Williams and Rodriguez sat down for an interview Good morning America last week in which they called the 35-year-old pop star “fat-phobic” and shared sordid stories from her time on tour with her former label.
“I know it’s alarming to hear that Lizzo, a plus-size woman who preaches body positivity, would essentially be fatphobic. But I want to challenge people to understand that hurt people hurt people,” Davis said.
Speaking out: Lizzo’s three former dancers called the singer ‘fat-phobic’ and accused her of sexual harassment in an interview with Newsmax last week, accompanied by their lawyer
Allegations: “He basically started raising his fists and cracking his knuckles, and he said, ‘You’re very lucky right now because he’s kind of coming at me.’
‘Fat-phobes’: “I know it’s alarming to hear that Lizzo, a plus-size woman who preaches body positivity, would be fat-phobic… But I want to challenge people to understand that hurt people hurt people,” she said Davis.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, recounted the moment Lizzo allegedly threatened her, after she told him she wanted to resign because she felt “insecure” and “disrespected.”
“He basically started raising his fists and cracking his knuckles, and he said, ‘Now you’re very lucky,’ because that’s like advancing on me.”
Rodriguez then claimed that Lizzo’s best friend jumped off the couch and had to physically restrain her.
Davis also cried as she described the incident when Lizzo allegedly pressured her to touch a female performer naked at a sex show in Amsterdam.
“She started a chant, after I said ‘no’ several times,” Davis said, explaining how Lizzo started chanting her name, “Ari.”
“I touched the player briefly and pulled my hands back, and you know, everybody burst out laughing because of all people, they thought it was funny that this player played.
The dancers also stated that they felt their jobs were always on the line.
“Our jobs are always under threat. Personally, I’ve never had job security all this time, all this time,” Davis said.
She and Williams were fired, while Rodriguez resigned in what she says was a response to the couple’s alleged treatment.
In their lawsuit, Davis, Williams and Rodriguez accused the Grammy-winning singer, as well as Big Grrrl Big Touring and dance team captain Shirlene Quigley, of creating a “sexually charged and uncomfortable” work environment. “.
The trio claim that while performing a concert with the artist in Amsterdam in February 2023, Lizzo invited them to a night on the town that ended in the city’s red light district.
They said in their introduction: “Things quickly got out of hand. Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the naked performers, catching dildos thrown from the performers’ vaginas and eating protruding bananas of the vagina of the performers.
The dancers added that Lizzo allegedly “pressured” and “urged” Arianna to touch one of the naked performers’ breasts.
In another case, the plaintiffs claim that Lizzo invited the dancers to a club in Paris, but did not say it was a nude cabaret bar. That “shocked” the dancers, who said Lizzo “robbed them of the option not to participate,” the lawsuit said.
Since the lawsuit was filed, Lizzo has lost more than 120,000 followers on Instagram.
Hours after news of the lawsuit broke, Lizzo’s former creative director Quinn Whitney Wilson and dancer Courtney Hollinquest claimed they had suffered similar abuse.
Lizzo’s full statement: The singer addressed all the claims and said her morals and values have been called into question
In her statement about the allegations, Lizzo wrote: “These past few days have been very difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing.
“My work ethic, my morals and my respect have been questioned. My character has been criticized. I usually choose not to respond to false allegations, but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to be addressed.
“These sensational stories come from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on the tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.
‘As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day, I just want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans.
‘With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make tough decisions, but it’s never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they’re not valued as an important part of the team.
I’m not here to be seen as a victim, but I also know that I’m not the bad guy that people and the media have made me out to be these past few days.
“I’m very open about my sexuality and expressing myself, but I can’t accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I’m not.
“There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be shamed every day and I would never criticize or fire an employee because of their weight.
“I’m hurt, but I’m not going to let the good work I’ve done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has supported me in getting me up through this difficult time.”
In their Good Morning America interview, the dancers addressed Lizzo’s response, with Davis stating, “That post felt like a punchline to me.”
Williams expressed her disappointment that Lizzo did not “acknowledge our feelings when her brand is to preach about women’s empowerment.”
“Honestly, I am blown away by the hypocrisy of everything you stand for. You are contradicting ourselves before our very eyes,” he said.
Rodríguez added: “For the many women who, because they are primarily women, have come forward and said they felt the same way, or who have shared their stories with us because they don’t want to share them publicly yet, it’s completely invalid all of our experience and our trauma and our pain.”
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