The last few weeks have fallen a bit short of “Good As Hell” for Lizzo: In early August, three of the singer’s former backup dancers announced that they’d filed a lawsuit against Lizzo and her touring production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, as well as her dance captain, Shirlene Quigley. The suit cites disability discrimination, failure to protect against religious and sexual harassment on the job, and assault, among other allegations.
While some of Lizzo’s former associates have come out to voice their support for the backup dancers making the allegations, others have come to the singer’s defense. On Thursday, the Big Grrrls and Big Boiiis, as Lizzo’s touring backup dancers are known, took to their official Instagram page to post a lengthy statement of support for their embattled frontwoman.
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“We have had the time of our lives on the Special tour,” the statement begins. They go on to thank Lizzo for “shattering limitations and kicking in the door way for the Big Grrl& Big Boiii Dancers to do what we love!” They said that they felt “honored to share the stage with such amazing talent.”
In the account’s Instagram Stories, they link to a week-old post by one of the Big Boiiis, Alexx Mayo, who captioned a celebratory post about the end of the tour with “So grateful to have had such an incredible journey on tour with the most beautiful souls. Thank you to @lizzobeeating for your kindness, generosity and light you share to this world. ????” alongside a grinning photo of himself high-fiving Lizzo.
The Stories also linked to a post by Big Grrrl Shelby Swain, with her caption reading in part, “LIZZO I love your kindness , I love your Strength, I love the way you love people. How you encourage, inspire and motivate your many fans every night. Giving them strength, encouragement and motivation letting them know they are Special ????????✨????????! FUCK THE HATERS”
The Big Grrrls account is verified by Instagram, but it’s unclear who is doing the posting—the Big Grrrls are employees of Lizzo.
At the 2022 Emmys, Lizzo took home the statuette for best competition series for her show Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, in which she searched for her beloved squad of backup dancers. She shouted them out onstage in her acceptance speech, alongside an emotional message of diversity, positivity, and acceptance.
“When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media,” she said. “Someone fat like me. Black like me. Beautiful like me.” Then, Lizzo said, she realized, “Bitch, it’s gon’ have to be you.”
“Make some noise for my Big Grrrls!” she directed the crowd.
Another gesture of support for Lizzo amidst her legal woes came from none other than Queen Bey herself: after appearing to remove a reference to Lizzo from her live performances of “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)” Beyoncé has not only returned the shoutout to her stage performance, but doubled down on her public love earlier this week at a show in Atlanta, shouting, “Lizzo! I love you, Lizzo!” in the song.
Lizzo has been quiet on her own social media accounts since issuing a forceful denial against the claims in the suit, calling them “unbelievable.”
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