Lizzo Says “Public Attack” Impacted Her Career, But Lawsuit Fallout May Explain The Fanbase Shift

Lizzo is putting a blunt answer behind the question fans keep asking about her momentum. In a new reply on X, the singer pointed to the streaming era and what she called a “public attack” on her career, a phrase that sends the conversation right back to the Lizzo lawsuits that reshaped public perception around one of pop’s biggest feel-good brands. 

The exchange started when a fan wrote, “lizzo not having a fanbase is so weird to me when this woman was literally selling out arenas not even 2 years ago. like, where did those people go?”

Lizzo responded directly:

“I actually can answer this: the industry changed so much in the last 3 yrs. streaming replaced radio & I was a radio darling. That’s how my fans discovered my music. Not to mention the very obvious & public attack on my career changed things. But I’m out here doing my absolute best and u can’t knock a b***h for that,” she wrote.

That answer lands because Lizzo’s rise was built for a different machine. She had the kind of crossover records that radio could run into the ground until the whole country caught up. “Truth Hurts” spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “About Damn Time” also reached No. 1, and “Special” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, according to promotional materials tied to her 2023 arena tour.

However, the music business she is describing has changed fast. The RIAA reported that streaming made up 84 percent of U.S. recorded music revenue in 2024 for the third year in a row, while downloads accounted for just 2 percent. Meanwhile, TikTok and Luminate reported that 84 percent of songs entering the Billboard Global 200 in 2024 had gone viral on TikTok first. In other words, discovery is no longer just about radio programmers breaking a record. It is playlists, clips, fan edits, algorithms, and whether the internet wants to carry you that week. 

Still, the streaming explanation only covers part of the story. When Lizzo referenced a “public attack” on her career, she did not name a specific incident in that X reply. But the most direct factual background is the wave of lawsuits and public allegations filed by former employees in 2023, starting with three former dancers.

In August 2023, Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez sued Lizzo, whose legal name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, along with Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. and dance captain Shirlene Quigley. The lawsuit alleged sexual, religious and racial harassment, disability discrimination, assault, and false imprisonment. The complaint also accused Lizzo of pressuring dancers to engage with nude performers during a night out in Amsterdam, while also accusing BGBT management of discriminating against Black dancers in pay and treatment. 

Lizzo denied the claims at the time, writing that the allegations were “as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed.” She also said, “I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days.”

Then came another lawsuit. In September 2023, former wardrobe department employee Asha Daniels sued Lizzo, BGBT, and others, alleging a hostile work environment, racial and sexual harassment, disability discrimination, illegal retaliatory termination, assault, and unpaid wages. Daniels claimed she worked extremely long days, witnessed dancers changing with little privacy, heard derogatory remarks about Black women on tour, and was fired after reporting alleged issues. Lizzo’s spokesperson Stefan Friedman dismissed that suit as a “bogus, absurd publicity-stunt lawsuit” and said Daniels had “never actually met or even spoke with Lizzo.” 

The legal picture has shifted since then, but it has not disappeared. In February 2024, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge allowed the dancers’ lawsuit to move forward while dismissing some allegations, including claims tied to fat-shaming, a nude photo shoot, and dancers allegedly being forced to stay on hold while not touring. Other claims remained, including sexual harassment, sexual, religious and racial discrimination, false imprisonment, assault, and allegations tied to visits to Bananenbar in Amsterdam and Crazy Horse in Paris. Lizzo’s spokesperson said at the time that her team planned to appeal the elements the judge allowed to stay in the case. 

Daniels’ lawsuit also narrowed. In December 2024, a federal judge ruled Daniels could not sue Lizzo as an individual because Daniels had named Lizzo’s production and payroll companies as her direct employers. That removed Lizzo personally from that case, but Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. remained the defendant. 

That is the part that makes Lizzo’s X reply feel bigger than a fanbase debate. Fans are not just asking why a hitmaker’s numbers look different. They are asking how an artist who once stood as a public symbol of joy, body confidence, and arena-level pop dominance ended up fighting to reintroduce herself while her name stayed attached to workplace allegations she denies.

And that is where the new angle lives. Lizzo may be right that streaming changed the rules. She may also be right that public backlash changed the temperature around her career. But the sharpest tension is that both things happened at once. The old radio pipeline that helped make her unavoidable got weaker, while the legal allegations made every new rollout carry extra weight.

Now, with her latest project “Bitch” arriving as her first album since “Special,” Lizzo is trying to move like the conversation has not fully swallowed the music. Pitchfork reported that the 12-song album was set for a June 5 release and marked her first album since 2022’s “Special.” 

So no, the question may not be as simple as “where did the fans go?” Some may still be there. Some may have moved on. Some may be waiting for the music to hit the way it once did. And some are clearly still watching the lawsuits before deciding how loudly they want to cheer.

Either way, Lizzo’s answer put the whole thing back on the table: the industry changed, the court cases changed the conversation, and the comeback now has to fight on both fronts.