What If Lizzo Ain't Good As Hell?

Are all the Rumours True? Will the Truth Hurt? Is this being sensationalised?

My angels!! Good morning and happy Friyay from my little part of the world to urs!!! I know you’re sick of hearing it but my days rn are consisting of ebiking to the library (yesterday my jeans got stuck in the chain at SPEED. No one tell my Dad), reading, writing, and yesterday I even baked a lemon cake (Laura will be so proud of me.)

This weekend I’m going away with my fam to a cute lil spot in Golden Bay, so YAY coz I get to bring the Close Friends along to one of my fave spots in NZ xxxxx

JUST A HUGE HI AND I LOVE YOU TO THE 20-SOMETHING NEW SUPPORTERS WHO HAVE JOINED THE SYSCAHOOD/ BECOME CLOSE FRIENDS/ JOINED OUR BOOK CLUB!!! Ugh I love you, never change 𓆩♡𓆪

• Some thoughts on Lizzo and media play

• Have u been burned online?

• This week in podcasts

• Shit You Should Cook About: Berries and Cream🫐🍓🍦

Some thoughts on Lizzo and media play

Well well well, if it isn’t another huge and complex celebrity story that has publicly gone on trial on the court of the internet this week! I know you’ve seen (and hopefully read) the reports by now, but to give a refresher, earlier this week it was reported that Lizzo is being sued by some of her former tour dancers, who alleged that she had “sexually harassed them and created a hostile work environment through sexual, racial and religious harassment in various incidents between 2021 and 2023.”

Here’s a fuller picture, from Vulture:

“The dancers claim while on tour Lizzo invited them to a nude-performance club in Amsterdam and went “out of fear of losing their jobs.” While there, the lawsuit claims that Lizzo “began leading a chant” to get Davis to touch one of the performer’s breasts. “Ms. Davis said three times, loud enough for all to hear, ‘I’m good,’ expressing her desire not to touch the performer,” the lawsuit states. “Davis eventually acquiesced, fearing it may harm her future on the team.” Later that night, they allege Lizzo “badgered a member of her security team to get on stage where she pulled down his pants and hit him with whips.” The next week, the plaintiffs say Lizzo took her dance team out without telling them they were going to a “nude cabaret bar” in Paris.

The lawsuit also alleges mistreatment from BGBT toward the dancers. “BGBT’s management team consisted entirely of white Europeans who often accused the Black members of the dance team of being lazy, unprofessional, and having bad attitudes,” the lawsuit states.

Additionally, Davis describes being fat-shamed by Lizzo and choreographer Tanisha Scott. “Lizzo and Ms. Scott pressed Ms. Davis for an explanation why she seemed less bubbly and vivacious than she did prior to the tour starting,” the lawsuit says. “In professional dance, a dancer’s weight gain is often seen as that dancer getting lazy or worse off as a performer. Lizzo and Ms. Scott’s questions about Ms. Davis’s commitment to the tour were thinly veiled concerns about Ms. Davis’s weight gain, which Lizzo had previously called attention to after noticing it at the South by Southwest music festival.” Davis was later fired for taping a meeting.”

Since these allegations were made, Lizzo has responded (in typical Notes app fashion but that’s neither here nor there) saying:

“These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals, and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticised. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed.

These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.

As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performance very seriously because at the end of the day, I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans. With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it’s never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren’t valued as an important part of the team.

I am not here to be looked at as the victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me as over these last few days. I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself, but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out as something I am not. There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.

I’m hurt, but I will not let the good work I’ve done be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support during to lift me up during this difficult time.”

I was as shocked as anyone reading the allegations, but I was not shocked that online commentators were like moths to a flame with this story, and I spent yesterday scrolling TikTok and seeing some of the grossest fatphobia and un-nuanced (or media illiterate) takes I’ve perhaps ever seen.

Of course, the allegations have to be taken seriously, and if they’re true, what a huge disappointment & goddamn shame. But with any story that pertains to a celebrity and is broken online, it seems to become less about the actual allegations and more about the noise around it rn. Everyone is waiting for the next person to make an Instagram story about their interactions with Lizzo, seeking out whether other celebrities have said something in support or against her, or doing analyses of past song lyrics that defiiiinitlely (sarcasm) prove guilt.

But amidst all this, I came across some TikTok’s from Culturework, who I think is doing some of the best stuff when it comes to nuance on that app (she also has a newsletter which I HIGHLY recommend!)

@cultureworkLA lawsuits are a small messy lil world. #greenscreen #lizzo #longervideos #fyp

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She talks about the case with a loooot more context, and introduces us to Ron Zambarno, the lawyer involved (from the dancers’ side.) In short, he’s a lawyer who seems to like to be celebrity-adjacent - he worked with Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde’s ex-nanny (he gave a whole exclusive to the Daily Mail about it) and the Donda Academy lawsuit against Kanye West - and he’s also kinda known for media play (or the idea that shifting of public sentiment can help a case.) And not that it matters but he does… a lot of TV appearances himself. Now of course, this doesn’t discredit those making the allegations, it’s just interesting when you go on the law firm’s Instagram and see a highlight reel of media cutouts where they’ve been mentioned:

their Instagram is basically a highlight reel of cases like this

And then, on all the other people coming forward saying that they agree - Lizzo is “arrogant, self-centred, unkind…” she commented:

“She’s allowed to be a wolf, she’s allowed to be a shark if she wants to… She is not required to be humble or jolly or soft, and let’s unpack why we feel like she should be that way. Being arrogant, being self-centred, being unkind are not illegal.”

She goes on to say that amidst all this, it’s important to be able to distinguish between things that are actually in the lawsuit, and are legal issues, and things that aren’t. She also notes that there are plenty of men in this industry who get to be ALL of the above things with “no expectation or requirement that they remain accessible and soft.”

@cultureworkReplying to @matcha king idk i never thought lizzo was a bubbly humble girl #greenscreen

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Of course, it’s especially jarring seeing allegations like this come out against someone that has built a brand from kindness and inclusivity, and while that should be the bare minimum for everyone, when you do that - and then people find out that you’ve been maybe been acting differently (CC: Ellen Degeneres) - it’s a far higher pedestal to fall from when you do things that don’t align with those values than say, someone who’s just a general celebrity and doesn’t stand for anything in particular.

I only know as much as the rest of you about this case, but as usual, I just wanted to try and broaden our perspectives and challenge us to go against the instant-cancel norm that the internet so desperately wants us to adhere to!!!

PS, subscribe to culturework’s newsy if you like a nuanced take!

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This week on The Shit Show (our weekly news podcast):

• Trader Joe’s Recalls Cookies and Falafel Because They ‘May Contain Rocks’

• Hangzhou Zoo confirms their Sun bears are real, not humans in disguise

• A Kansas farmer surprised his wife by planting 80 acres of sunflowers for their 50th wedding anniversary

• Explaining the new charges against Trump

• Have you heard of Worldcoin and the ORB?

• Subway offers free sandwiches for life contest if you legally change your name

Spotify:

Apple Podcasts:

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This week on Culture Vulture (our weekly pop culture podcast!)

• A tribute to Angus Cloud

• Doja Cat loses 500k followers after saying she doesn't love her fans

• Emily Mariko's 'quiet luxury' wedding

• Fans throwing things at Cardi B & Cardi B throwing things at fans

• Every single Barbie take you could ever imagine

Spotify:

Apple podcasts:

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Have u been burned online?

HI I STILL NEED TO KNOW ALL UR DEEP DARK INTERNET STORIES!!!

We’ve all mistakenly hit ‘reply all’, uploaded an insta story by accident, or had someone we know fall for a ridiculous online scam, and now is your chance to PLEASE TELL US ALL ABOUT IT!

We wanna know things like:

• If you (or someone you know) has fallen for an online scam

• If your digital footprint has ever come back to bite you

• If you’ve got any stories from the ask.fm or Qooh.me days

• If you’ve got any high-stakes or low-stakes embarrassing moments where you’ve uploaded something accidentally

• And all your other stories!

Let us know at the button below (plz) xxx

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🍓Shit You Should Cook About: Berries and Cream🫐

Shit You Should Cook About is written by London Laura - our resident ray of sunshine and co-host of Culture Vulture (our weekly pop culture podcast!) She’s a new London dweller, chief of romanticising literally everything, and will definitely ask you all what your love language is at some stage. You can find more Shit She Should Cook About over here!

Hiiiiii! Oh it is so so good to be back! I have loved seeing your tags of sweetcorn pasta - truly this summers hero. This week’s Culture Vulture was SO much fun to record -  a full Barbie review with every hot take / random thought that popped into our heads and honestly was a joy (as it always is when catching up w Luce)! 

In London, we have had back-to-back visitors for the past 6 weeks (our air mattress popped on the last day of the last guest) and while it has been so so nice and really alleviated the homesickness, it also means I have been cooking a lot and have sooo many new recipes to share with you! However, I really need to get better at documenting them…. despite the fact I’ve been eating today’s ‘recipe’ (it’s really not a recipe) nearly every single day for several weeks I don’t have one picture of it 🫠

What I do have is an image is from Paris (see below), where went this time last year when we first arrived on this side of the world. It was our first evening in the city and our Airbnb host told us to go to this restaurant around the corner. We ate at about 10pm and stayed for hours (having one of the best meals of my life), and sometime in the middle of the night we were served a large dish of berries and a pitcher of cream, and it was simply perfect. It was all I’ve ever wanted from a dessert - the sweetest in-season summer berries topped w rich cream, so so simple but truly gorgeous. My fave food in the entire world is raspberries - which come into season for about one month in NZ - and the fact they are so readily available in the UK is something I don’t think I’ll ever get over. So, despite the fact London is having the wettest ever weather - the berries at least are very much still giving summer 🌞 The cream can be whipped, poured, dolloped, vegan, from a spray can - honestly whatever you desire just something creamy to cut through the berry and make it feel ✨luxe✨

For our NZ friends I know this is not very winter friendly, you could give it a go with frozen (let me know!) but otherwise hold off until you start seeing those sweet summer strawberries come into season (or pick your own - a fave NZ  summer activity of mine) it will be worth the wait I promise 🍓🍓🍓

🫐Berries & cream!!🫐

• 1 punnet of strawbs 

• 1 punnet of raspberries (also blackberries, blueberries, redcurrants, and berry in season in your town!)

• 250ml of cream 

Wash your berries well, pat with paper towel to reduce any moisture and pop in a  bowl. Dust with icing sugar if they aren’t *quite* sweet enough yet. For the adventurous a dash of balsamic vinegar can be fun here too. Whip your cream until it forms stiff peaks, dollop on top of your berries and serve in the middle of the table with as many spoons as is needed.

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Luce jumping in here: I had to message Laura and tell her HOW hilar it is to be giving a recipe for BERRIES AND CREAM bc literally the method AND ingredients are in the title. This is a very Luce-approved recipe in terms of ease.

Anyway, that’s it for the newsy today, ily my angels!!

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