Lizzo’s legal drama just picked up fresh momentum as her former backup dancers push an appeals court to bring their sexual harassment lawsuit back to life, saying the singer shouldn’t be allowed to hide behind the First Amendment to dodge accountability.
According to Billboard, the dancers argue that the behavior described in their suit, including allegations that they were pressured to interact with nude performers and eat bananas from their genitals during overseas outings, is not protected “creative expression” and has no business being dismissed as free speech. Their position is straightforward: what they experienced wasn’t artistry, it was misconduct, and the law shouldn’t treat those two things as interchangeable.
This latest filing builds on a key 2024 ruling that allowed parts of the lawsuit to move forward, even though the judge tossed the headline-making fat-shaming claim. While that allegation was removed, the court made clear the remaining claims were “equally salacious” and deserved to be heard in a trial setting. That opened a narrow but significant path for the dancers to continue pressing their case.
Now, the plaintiffs are asking the appeals court to settle the dispute once and for all by confirming that a jury has the right to evaluate their experiences and that a judge, not Lizzo’s legal team, should have the final say on what qualifies as protected expression.
