Lizzo is putting the spotlight on the impact that “false accusers” in lawsuits.
Writing on her Substack on Saturday (Dec. 20), Lizzo described “the harm others endure when they watch ‘false allegations’ of sexual assault make headlines.”
“Who’s gonna write the op-ed on the harm false allegations cause?” she wrote. “I’m not talking about the harm caused to the person falsely accused. And I’m talking about the harm caused to the people watching it play out publicly who have experienced true traumatic crimes.”
Lizzo also wrote that “real victims of sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment, and the millions of people who’ve been subjected to violence.” She said they end up staying silent “because no one believes them.”
“Or the people who have been harmed by someone who isn’t rich or famous, so pro-bono lawyers incentivized by large settlements won’t take their case? They have to keep living their lives while they watch the world make light of the exact kind of trauma they’ve endured. I think about these people often,” she continued.
Lizzo said comment sections to “battlegrounds saturated with hearsay,” making it “harder to believe on both sides.”
“Cases like these are big business. So expecting change from that well-oiled machine is like pushing a boulder up a hill,” she argued. “Yes, courtroom victories can be significant. But the courtroom that truly matters is the court of public opinion. It’s the sentence that stains you, no matter what happens. The jury that shames both victims and the accused. How many voices of real victims have been silenced out of fear of backlash from the court of public opinion?”
Lizzo recently won part of a legal victory brought against her by her former dancers, who sued her for sexual harassment and fat shaming in 2023. In an Instagram video, Lizzo announced that the “fat shaming claims” from ex-dancers Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis, and Noelle Rodriguez were “officially dropped.”
“They conceded it had no merit in court,” Lizzo’s statement read. “There was no evidence that I fired them because they gained weight. Because it never happened. Now the truth is finally out.”