LOS ANGELES — Three dancers who filed a lawsuit against Lizzo committed to additional tour dates after the alleged harassment occurred, according to documents obtained by NBC News on Tuesday.
Arianna Davis, Noelle Rodriguez and Crystal Williams each re-signed for a third leg of Lizzo’s tour in early April, according to a signed agreement and an email.
A contract signed April 11 showed David and Williams agreed to remain on retainer for the singer’s international shows through July 31. An email dated April 4 states that a representative for Rodriguez accepted an agreement for the same dates.
Marty Singer, an attorney for Lizzo, said in a statement Tuesday that the plaintiffs’ complaints included a “range of factual inaccuracies.”
“Clearly, even at this early stage of the process, their case has been irreparably damaged,” Singer said.
The dancers’ attorneys, Ron Zambrano and Neama Rahmani, said Tuesday that they were confident in the dancers’ suit and that the contract agreements do not change the facts of the lawsuit.
“The plaintiffs merely wanted to keep their jobs until they finally had enough of the abuse,” Rahmani said. “Arianna, Noelle and Crystal were brave enough to come out with their stories, and they don’t plan to back down in the face of these bullying tactics by Lizzo’s attorney.”
The lawyers also noted that they have spoken to more potential plaintiffs.
“Some of them will most certainly be actionable,” Zambrano said. “Crystal, Noelle and Arianna stepped out of the shadows to share their stories and now others are feeling empowered to do the same.”
The three dancers accused Lizzo of sexual harassment and hostile work environment in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court this month.
Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, held an afterparty at an Amsterdam strip club, Bananenbar, on February 23, the suit states.
At the club, Lizzo allegedly “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 suit says. “Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women.”
A week later, after a show in Paris, the suit states, Lizzo invited her dancers to a club for performance inspiration but did not mention it was a “nude cabaret bar.”
The suit described the performance as “artful,” but the plaintiffs stated they were “shocked that Lizzo would conceal the nature of the event from them, robbing them of the choice not to participate.”
Two dancers were fired in April and May. According to the suit, Williams lost her job April 26, days after she spoke up at a meeting in which she challenged an assertion from Lizzo that the dancers were drinking before performances.
Davis was terminated after filming a April 27 meeting because she suffered from an eye condition that sometimes left her disoriented in stressful situations, the suit said.
Rodriguez told Lizzo she would resign days later after a meeting in which Lizzo confiscated their phone, the suit said.
Lizzo called the allegations by her former dancers “unbelievable” and “outrageous” in a statement posted to Instagram earlier this month.
“These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing,” the singer said at the time. “My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized.”