The singer can’t be sued as an individual, judge rules
Lizzo won a key ruling this week in her ongoing legal battle with a wardrobe stylist who claims she was subjected to a hostile work environment on the singer’s 2023 European tour.
A federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled plaintiff Asha Daniels has no standing to sue Lizzo as an individual after identifying the Grammy winner’s touring and payroll companies as her employers. In the decision obtained by Rolling Stone, U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha dismissed all seven causes of action against Lizzo and said Daniels can’t try again. Lizzo’s tour manager Carlina Gugliotta also was cut loose from the lawsuit, but Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. remains a defendant.
“Lizzo’s company was not dismissed,” Daniels’ lawyer Ron Zambrano tells Rolling Stone. “The lawsuit still exists as to Lizzo’s companies … Lizzo and her tour manager will still be deposed in this matter.” (Lawyers representing the “Truth Hurts” singer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Daniels first filed her lawsuit in Sept. 2023, alleging the atmosphere on Lizzo’s tour subjected her to “racist and fat phobic comments,” sexual harassment, and disability discrimination. She claimed a wardrobe manager once physically injured her by rolling a “heavy clothing rack” over her foot and pushing her.
In response, Lizzo’s lawyers described Daniels as a “disgruntled” employee with “meritless and salacious” claims.
Daniels filed her suit against Lizzo in the wake of a similar sexual harassment and hostile workplace environment lawsuit filed by three of the musician’s former dancers. Lizzo has denied the claims. In an Instagram post in March, she said she was considering quitting the industry after the lawsuits led to backlash.
“I’m getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet. All I want is to make music and make people happy and help the world be a little better than how I found it,” she wrote. “I’m constantly up against lies being told about me for clout & views… being the butt of the joke every single time because of how I look… my character being picked apart by people who don’t know me and disrespecting my name.”
In a ruling last January, a judge clipped some of the dancers’ lawsuit but allowed it to proceed. A status conference is set for next month.