Sophia Nahli Allison, a documentary filmmaker who earned an Oscar nomination for her Netflix short doc “A Love Song for Latasha,” has spoken out against the pop star Lizzo in a series of social media posts, saying she left a documentary project on the singer after being “treated with such disrespect.”
The posts come after three of Lizzo’s former background dancers filed a lawsuit against the singer, accusing her of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment among other charges.
“I usually do not comment on anything pop culture related,” Allison wrote in her post. “But, in 2019, I traveled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary. I walked away after about two weeks.”
“I was treated with such disrespect by her. I witnessed how arrogant and unkind she is. I was not protected and was thrown into a shitty situation with little support. My spirit said to run as fast as you fucking can and I’m so grateful I trusted by gut. I felt gaslit and was deeply hurt but I’ve healed,” Allison continued.
In a second post, Allison accused Lizzo of being a “narcissistic bully” who has “built a brand off her lies” and “creates an extremely toxic and hostile working environment and undermines the work, labor and authority of other Black and brown women in the process.”
“Since I’ve spoken out, I’ve had others privately share their very similar experiences, and I have also been affirmed by people who witnessed what I went through,” Allison wrote. “I stand with the dancers and anyone who has had similar experiences working with her and her team.”
On Tuesday, plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez filed their lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Lizzo, her dance team captain Shirlene Quigley and her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc.
The dancers accused Lizzo and her company of sexual, religious and racial harassment among several other charges. Specific accusations against Lizzo herself include inviting the dancers for a night out in Amsterdam without telling them that they would be attending a nude cabaret bar in the city’s Red Light District. At the bar, Davis says that Lizzo tried to publicly pressure her into touching one of the nude performers despite her refusal.
Davis also accused Lizzo of questioning her commitment to an upcoming tour after pointing out her weight gain and then later firing her for recording a meeting during which the singer gave out notes to dancers about their performances.
“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,” the plaintiffs’ attorney Ron Zambrano said.
Lizzo has yet to publicly respond to the lawsuit or Allison’s posts. TheWrap has reached out to her representatives for comment.
