Lizzo wants a judge to toss out court filings against her from three former dancers.
According to Radar Online, attorneys representing the four-time Grammy Award-winner are asking for documents to be sealed in the ongoing harassment lawsuit she faces, claiming that the filings can be a detriment to her business.
A petition to seal the documents was filed on Tuesday, Dec. 21, stating that Lizzo—real name Melissa Jefferson— is concerned that "documents, correspondence and testimony that contain sensitive, confidential information and/or proprietary business information, including employee compensation, contract negotiation, and third-party sensitive contact information" could result in public backlash.
"These records, including portions of Declarations in support of the Motion and attached exhibits, should be ordered sealed to avoid any harm to the parties through their public disclosure," Lizzo's lawyers wrote in the petition.
A judge has yet to rule on the request, which marks a continuation of the legal battle between Lizzo and her ex-dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez. The women, who worked for Lizzo from 2021 to 2023, have accused the "About Damn Time" artist of pressuring them to attend and participate in lewd shows in Amsterdam and Paris, also weight-shaming them along with false imprisonment, and racial discrimination.
Dance captain Shirlene Quigley was also named in the lawsuit for religious and sexual harassment, with Davis, Rodriguez, and Williams claiming that she took "every opportunity to proselytize to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations."
In November, the three women wrote a 19-page opposition filing, stating that the anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) doesn't protect Lizzo from taking legal accountability for the accusations made towards her.
“Can a global celebrity be forever insulated from civil liability because all their conduct is protected as free speech under the anti-SLAPP statute?" read the filing. "Defendant Lizzo asks this Court to rule in exactly that fashion. Fortunately for all victims of celebrity malfeasance, the law says otherwise."
The document continued, "In an apparent effort to dupe this Court, Defendants either cherry-pick allegations or outright omit allegations inconvenient to their position, instead sanitizing them with euphemisms."
In October, Rolling Stone reported that Lizzo received the support of 18 dancers as the singer's attorneys filed to dismiss the case, writing that the three dancers showed "a pattern of gross misconduct and failure to perform their job up to par."
"Plaintiffs embarked on a press tour, vilifying defendants and pushing their fabricated sob story in the courts and the media," the filing reads. "That ends today."
The suit is separate from designer Asha Daniels, who alleged that while working for Lizzo on tour, she experienced "degradation, forced physical labor, denial of medical care, sexual harassment, and racial harassment" from the singer. Last week, Lizzo requested that the harassment and discrimination lawsuit be dismissed, per Los Angeles Times.
