Grimes has spoken out in defense of Lizzo as the singer faces scrutiny following a lawsuit accusing her of fostering a hostile work environment and turning a blind eye to sexual harassment. “Not saying I don’t believe ppl when bad things happen, but I had dancers mistreated on my watch in ways I didn’t find out about until way later,” she wrote on Twitter Sunday.
Grimes also spoke to Lizzo’s character, saying the singer has always been kind to her. “Mebe shit is bad. But loyalty matters to me. Lizzo was kind to me and others for a decade before she was ‘cool’, and she checked in in me when no one cared. I’ve only ever seen exemplary behavior from her, especially when everyone was hating on me and she was on top of the world,” she wrote. “There was no reason for her to check in, besides to be a good person. Just my two cents.”
In another tweet, Grimes wrote about “restorative justice,” comparing Lizzo’s situation to Chris Brown’s abuse of Rihanna. “Rihanna has supported chris brown in the aftermath cuz Rihanna seems to care about restorative justice,” she wrote. “*assuming* Lizzo is guilty (without a trial – which flies in the face of democracy) – it’s funny to me the same people who fight for restorative justice seem against it for someone who has been a figurehead for change and suffered greatly to fight for acceptance.”
And when a Twitter user accused Grimes of “coddling abusers,” she shot back. “No one mentioned coddling abusers,” she wrote. “The absolute worst case here sounds like hella ppl were drunk and no one was injured. Let’s approach reality with logic.”
And when another Twitter user wrote, “Women already have a hard time speaking up about abuse, and seeing you invalidate that because you’re friends with lizzo makes it worse,” Grimes reiterated her support. “I see a society crumbling under the weight of human imperfection because people can’t handle that we all fuck up,” she wrote. “I see humans becoming pathetic shadows of themselves, fighting for a fragile acceptance by turning against their friends.”
Last week, three of Lizzo’s former dancers — Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis, and Noelle Rodriguez — filed a lawsuit alleging Lizzo body-shamed one of them and that the captain of Lizzo’s dance team, Shirlene Quigley, who is a codefendant in the suit, attempted to push their religion on the dancers and would sexually harass them.
Lizzo denied the allegations in an Instagram post. “Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed,” she wrote. “These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”