Sophia Nahli Allison, who briefly worked with Lizzo on her behind-the-scenes tour documentary, is speaking out about her experience after the singer was accused of creating a toxic work environment.
“I usually do not comment on anything pop culture related. But, in 2019, I traveled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary,” Allison, 36, wrote via Twitter on Tuesday, August 1. “I walked away after about 2 weeks. I was treated with such disrespect by her.”
Allison — who was nominated for an Academy Award in 2021 for her short film A Love Song for Latasha — further claimed that she found Lizzo, 35, to be “arrogant, self-centered and unkind” throughout their working relationship. “I was not protected and was thrown into a sh—y situation with little support,” she alleged in her social media post. “My spirit said to run as fast as you f—king can and I’m so grateful I trusted my gut. I felt gaslit and was deeply hurt, but I’ve healed.”
Allison was inspired to share her story after seeing allegations made by several of Liz’s former backup dancers. “Reading these reports made me realize how dangerous of a situation it was. This kind of abuse of power happens far too often,” the filmmaker concluded.
Us Weekly confirmed on Tuesday that three dancers — Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez — filed a lawsuit against Lizzo after allegedly experiencing a hostile work environment, religious harassment, disability discrimination and sexual harassment. They even claimed that they felt pressured to participate in a nude photo shoot.
“Ms. Davis broke down in tears on set while struggling to choose between a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity and putting her body on display against her will,” the lawsuit read. “This experience foreshadowed the sexually charged and uncomfortable environment Lizzo’s employees would be forced to endure.”
The dancers also alleged that Lizzo (real name Melissa Jefferson) invited them to visit the Red Light District with her while on tour in Amsterdam. The trio felt “obligated” to attend out of fear of losing their jobs on the tour, claiming that the outing “quickly got out of hand.”
“Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas,” the performers claimed in their filing. “Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club.”
The trio’s lawyer, Ron Zambrano, also called out Lizzo’s actions due to her body-positive platform.
“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,” Zambrano said in a Tuesday statement.
Lizzo, for her part, has not publicly addressed the allegations. Us Weekly has reached out for comment.
