Do we like Lizzo?
Our score: 6 out of 10. A long record of backing trans people with money and speeches, balanced by an unresolved workplace lawsuit and one post she pulled after backlash.
Lizzo was born in Detroit and raised in Houston, the youngest of three in a musical Pentecostal family. She was a classically trained flautist, won a music scholarship, then dropped out and spent about six months homeless, sleeping in her car. Minneapolis changed things: she built a name there, recorded for a Prince album, and released her 2013 debut Lizzobangers.
Her fanbase started with the LGBTQ+ community, and the 2019 breakout of Juice made her a global name and a body-positivity figure. She also copped flak that year when a Weight Watchers ad used her song, and she pulled the ad. It's a long way from a car in a car park.
Now the messy bit. In 2023 three former backup dancers sued, alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, and Lizzo's lawyers filed a blanket denial. The fat-shaming claim was later dismissed and not pursued on appeal, but harassment, hostile workplace and false imprisonment claims were reported as still active in February. Alleged is alleged: no court has found against her.
The second suit is done. Ex-wardrobe designer Asha Daniels alleged sexual and racial harassment and disability discrimination, and in September a federal judge granted summary judgment to Lizzo's touring company. He described the alleged conduct as “inappropriate and unprofessional” yet within the “ordinary tribulations of the workplace”. Her lawyer called it a total victory; Daniels' lawyer said the court improperly weighed evidence and she is considering next steps.
On the harm test she looks solid. At West Hollywood Pride in 2025 she dedicated her set to Black trans women, and in 2023 she gave US$50,000 to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, which protects Black trans people. The one wobble: in February she posted a TikTok urging people not to assume guilt from names in the Epstein files, defending Jay-Z, and deleted it hours later after backlash.
Her new album Bitch dropped in June and missed the Billboard 200. She said she was sad for a few days but insisted “I am a successful artist.” So: a proper ally with real money behind it, a bit of social-media spontaneity she's walked back, and a workplace case still to be heard. Where you land on the dancers depends on whether you wait for a court.