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The bad news continues for pop star Lizzo when it comes to her treatment of her backup dancers. A report in the Los Angeles Times revealed on Wednesday that six months prior to the current lawsuit she finds herself embroiled in — between Lizzo and three of her dancers over claims of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment — she had previously settled a legal dispute with 14 other dancers who felt they had not been compensated fairly for their appearance in a documentary about Lizzo, on which Lizzo was also a producer.
The documentary in question, 2022's “Love Lizzo” on HBO Max, featured footage of a group of dancers rehearsing with Lizzo for her 2019 Video Music Awards performance. In the five minute sequence of the film, the dancers talk openly about what it means to be a plus-size, female, Black dance artist.
“You can’t let nobody see you sweat,” one dancer candidly explains, with others agreeing and getting emotional in the background. “You have to be three times better than. It’s not two times. It’s three times. You know what I mean?”
The dancers later complained that they never had knowledge of or consented to that footage being used in the documentary without their knowledge or consent, according to interviews and research by The Times. According to an email obtained by the paper, which was sent to Alan Brunswick, an attorney for the co-producer Boardwalk Pictures, the manager for the dancers expressed frustration that the performers had not consented to the filming and weren’t compensated for their appearance in the documentary.
“After seeing all of the videos, I’m sure you realize how sensitive and private the dialogue was for the talent involved,” explained Slay Smiles, the dancers’ manager, in an email. “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/permissions, has truly exploited these women and violated the emotional safety they had in those moments.”
The key issue at the heart of the settlement was that while the dancers all worked under a union contract for the MTV VMA Awards, they were not working under any sort of agreement for the non-union behind-the-scenes footage that was shot and later used in the documentary.
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However, Brunswick insists that all the footage of the dancers that was obtained for Love Lizzo “was captured openly” and with their consent.
“They all knew the cameras were there,” said Brunswick. “I don’t think the documentary was even contemplated at that point.”
The settlements came about early this year after one of the dancers hired an attorney to move forward with the accusation. Signed in February, the confidential settlement arrangements are between Boardwalk Pictures, a Lizzo entity and other parties. As part of the agreement, the dancers released their rights to the footage and were compensated for their appearance in the documentary.
Martin Singer, the attorney representing Lizzo, said the legal matter was resolved when the production company made an appropriate payment for clearance of the rights for use of the footage. Singer also pointed out that, “Lizzo had nothing to do with it and knew nothing about it.”
Lizzo's relationship with her dancers has come under scrutiny of late ever since the now-infamous lawsuit filed earlier this month by three former dancers. The dancers have alleged that Lizzo sexually harassed them and created a hostile work environment, in addition to other allegations in the complaint. Lizzo, who had previously been praised as a singer for her emphasis on body positivity, has dismissed the allegations as “false” and “outrageous”. However, the drama has already cost Lizzo a chance at appearing in the next Super Bowl halftime show and led to an awkward concert snub from Beyoncé.
