The plaintiffs — Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez — alleged in the suit that the 35-year-old singer berated a dancer over their weight gain and later fired them after she found that they recorded a meeting due to a health condition.
They also claimed that Lizzo once pressured her dancers to participate in a sex show while on a trip to Amsterdam, apparently “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.”
In addition to this, NBC News reports that the lawsuit includes allegations relating to “religious and racial harassment, false imprisonment,” and “interference with prospective economic advantage.” Though, it must be noted that Lizzo is not the only person named in the suit, and that not every claim was brought against each of the defendants.
The dancers’ lawyer, Ron Zambrano, said in a statement that Lizzo and her management team’s alleged treatment of their performers “seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly.”
And as reactions to the lawsuit mounted online, fans noticed on Tuesday night that Beyoncé seemingly omitted Lizzo from the list of past and present music icons she names in her song, “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix),” which she regularly performs on her Renaissance tour.
In the original lyrics, Beyoncé name-drops Lizzo alongside other music industry stars, singing: “Betty Davis / Solange Knowles / Badu / Lizzo / Kelly Rowl’.”
However, videos of Beyoncé’s most recent performance of the song in Boston last night indicate that she made the decision not to give Lizzo a shoutout, instead repeating Erykah Badu’s name four times.
Video footage taken from other angles show that Lizzo’s name still appears on the graphic that plays on the screen behind the stage.
Of course, many fans have interpreted the move to be a deliberate response to the lawsuit. However, others have pointed out that it may be a reference to a recent controversy relating to Erykah.
In case you missed it, Erykah appeared to shade Beyoncé on social media this week, accusing her of copying her style.
While performing in New Jersey over the weekend, Bey sported a big, metallic wide-brim hat, which Erykah seemingly felt was a bit too reminiscent of a similarly large silver hat she previously wore.
She aired her frustrations on her Instagram Story, writing: “I guess I’m everybody stylist.”
Tons of fans have come to Beyoncé’s defense, pointing out that she’s been known to wear large hats for years now, particularly during her Formation world tour back in 2016.
Beyoncé hasn’t responded to the shade herself, though fans think it’s possible her modified lyrics may have been an intentional nod to Erykah, instead of Lizzo — or perhaps even both.
We can’t know for sure, although the answers may become clear when Beyoncé performs the song again on the next stop of her tour in Washington DC this weekend.
