Attorneys for rapper and singer Melissa Viviane Jefferson, who performs under the stage name Lizzo, have filed a motion to dismiss a harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed earlier thie year by former employees of the performer.
According to documents obtained by People, Lizzo's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss her former employee's case on Friday. The motion to dismiss refers to the case as "meritless and salacious" and claims the case was filed on behalf of former employee Asha Daniels.
Daniels was accused of "abandoning her post" after not attending a concert she was scheduled to perform at in Paris, according to the filing. Daniels "failed to perform the work that she was assigned," per the motion to dismiss, adding, "eventually [she] just played hooky and refused to show up for work."
The filing also called Daniels' listed residence into question noting the former Lizzo employee is "a New York resident who worked for a Delaware corporation while the singer was touring in Europe," and adds Daniels "has no nexus to California," per her original filing.
Daniels' attorney, Ron Zambrano, claimed the motion to dismiss was "another Hail Mary by Lizzo's team to try to shift blame to the victims."
"As she has done to the three other plaintiffs who have sued her for similar allegations of harassment, disability discrimination and retaliatory termination," Zambrano added. "Lizzo and her lawyers can continue trying to rationalize her illegal and wretched conduct but we remain committed to seeking justice for our clients, and look forward to our day in court where Lizzo can explain her behavior in a public forum."
According to the August lawsuit, Lizzo reportedly accused one dancer of drinking on the job and subsequently subjected them to an “excruciating” audition along with allegedly pressuring the dancer to touch a nude performer at a club in Amsterdam.
Lizzo was also accused of harassing one dancer over weight gain claiming the performer was “less committed” to her role in the production. The rapper also berated and fired the dancer for reportedly recording a meeting after citing a health condition, per NBC News, who was privy to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the plaintiffs’ law firm.
“I felt like I was living in a madhouse. It was totally shocking,” Daniels told NBC News. “I was listening to this black woman on this huge stage have this message of self-love and caring for others and being empathetic and being strong and standing up for others. And I was witnessing myself, the dancers and the background vocalists and my local team in every city be harassed and bullied regularly.”
