Beyonce omits her usual Lizzo shoutout at Gillette Stadium concert amid lawsuit

August 2, 2023 / 8:58 AM / CBS/CNN

FOXBORO - Beyoncé appeared to skip over Lizzo's name as she performed "Break My Soul (Queen's Remix)" at a concert in Foxboro's Gillette Stadium on Tuesday, following the news that Lizzo is being sued by three former dancers alleging harassment and a hostile work environment.

Normally, Lizzo's name appears in the lyrics of "Break My Soul (Queen's Remix)," alongside the likes of Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill and Nicki Minaj, as part of Beyoncé's song celebrating Black women in the entertainment industry.

But several videos posted on social media showed Beyoncé appearing to omit Lizzo's name from the song during her latest concert, instead repeating Erykah Badu's name four times, even as Lizzo's name flashed up on the screen behind her.

Beyoncé did NOT say Lizzo’s name tonight😭- pic.twitter.com/ory4xkJbYV

Lizzo had posted a video of herself on Instagram in June watching the same set at a previous show on Beyoncé's "Renaissance" tour, saying, "I think of what we all mean to people and how cyclical it is. We are all so infinitesimally and maximally connected and significant. It's an honor. Thank You Beyoncé."

The lawsuit filed by the dancers claims they were subjected to a severely toxic work environment that included "debauchery" and racially biased taunts of being "lazy" and "snarky."

The singer's company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, and dance team captain, Shirlene Quigley, were both named as defendants in the suit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. In their complaint, dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez also accuse Lizzo of disability discrimination, assault and false imprisonment.

"The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing," the dancers' lawyer, Ron Zambrano, said in a statement.

Media representatives for Lizzo didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News on Tuesday.

Davis, Williams and Rodriguez, who are all people of color, joined Lizzo's dance team in 2021, according to the suit. During an international tour in Amsterdam earlier this year, Lizzo allegedly pressured the dancers into engaging with nude performers in the city's red light district, the suit states.

In their complaint, the dancers describe their former work environment as "overtly sexual" and hostile, claiming that allegedly abusive behavior by the singer contributed to their "emotional distress."

Davis and Williams were fired and Rodriguez resigned from Lizzo's dance team, Zambrano said.

First published on August 2, 2023 / 8:58 AM