Beyoncé Omits Lizzo in Lyrics Amidst Controversy & Lawsuit
In the Madonna remix of "Break My Soul," Beyoncé seemingly skips over Lizzo's name amidst the ongoing lawsuit.
Say her name she won't.
Beyoncé has seemingly subtly reacted to the new lawsuit against Lizzo. Throughout her highly-anticipated Renaissance Tour, while singing the Madonna remix of "Break My Soul," she typically gives shoutouts to different Black female artists in the song, but at her concert on Tuesday, she left out Lizzo's name and repeated "Badu," seeming to reference Erykah Badu, in its place.
The original lineup read, "Rosetta Tharpe, Santigold, Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Betty Davis, Solange Knowles, Badu, Lizzo, Kelly Rowl'." But, it now appears that she repeated Badu's name four times to keep up with the beat.
The lawsuit in question was unveiled on August 1, in which three of Lizzo's dancers are suing the singer and her dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, on numerous allegations. Some of the biggest claims include instances of weight shaming, creating a hostile work environment, being encouraged to "touch nude performers" at a cabaret bar even against many objections, and racial and religious discrimination.
"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," Ron Zambrano, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said in a statement obtained by NBC News.
The lawsuit claims that Lizzo put her dancers through a 12-hour rehearsal after Crystal Williams — one of the dancers suing — challenged the accusation that performers were drinking before going on stage. Five days later, Williams was seemingly publicly fired in a hotel lobby due to "budget cuts" though no other dancer was let go.
Another claim for the lawsuit is that some of the touring company employees recited comments “charged with racial and fat-phobic animus" toward the dancers, though, "only the dance cast — comprised of full-figured women of colour — were ever spoken to in this manner."
Quigley, who was accused of trying to convert dancers to Christianity and shamed dancers for having premarital sex, seems to have responded to the lawsuit with an Instagram post "thanking God."
As of right now, Lizzo has not responded to the lawsuit or the allegations.
