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Beyoncé Skips Lizzo's Name While Singing 'Break My Soul' Amid Lawsuit
It looks like the news of Lizzo being sued by three of her former dancers has made its way to Queen Bey.
The startling news about Lizzo being sued by three former dancers has spread like wildfire — and it seems like even Queen Bey may have gotten word.
Beyoncé, who is currently in the middle of her Renaissance World Tour, took to the stage on Tuesday, Aug. 1 to perform “Break My Soul (The Queen’s Remix),” but instead of singing the song's original lyrics, she has removed Lizzo’s name.
Normally, in the third verse Beyoncé lists the names of influential and pioneering Black women by singing, “Betty Davis, Solange Knowles; Badu, Lizzo, Kelly Rowl,” but the pop star eliminated Lizzo from the list and instead sang, “Betty Davis, Solange Knowles, Badu, Badu, Badu, Badu.”
The “Single Ladies” singer has yet to come forward and say that she removed Lizzo’s name because of the allegations against her fellow pop star, but the news of the lawsuit did come out just hours before the concert began.
However, earlier today, Bey's mom Tina Knowles-Lawson, popped up on social media to dispel this theory. “She also didn’t say her own sisters [sic] name yal [sic] should really stop,” the 69-year-old posted, according to a screenshot obtained by the Neighborhood Talk Instagram account.
While it’s easy to interpret Beyoncé omitting her name from the lyrics as a response to the lawsuit, fans were also quick to point out that she may have also cut out Lizzo's name so that she could repeat Erykah Badu’s name three times as a possible dig at the singer.
According to People, Badu took to her Instagram Story on Sunday, July 30 to throw some shade by posting a photo of both she and Beyoncé wearing similar hats with the caption, “Hmmm. I guess I’m everybody’s stylist.”
Lizzo is being sued by former dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez, who claim that they were sexually harassed, subjected to a hostile work environment and shamed for their weight.
The lawsuit was not only filed against Lizzo, but also her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, and her dance captain Shirlene Quigley, who is being accused of shaming dancers for having premarital sex, sharing her own sexual fantasies with employees, as well as simulating oral sex and even publicly discussing the virginity of one of the plaintiffs in the suit.
The most surprising allegation from the lawsuit stems from an incident that took place during a group trip to an Amsterdam strip club earlier this year. According to ABC News, the lawsuit states that Lizzo “began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers’ vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ vaginas. Lizzo then turned her attention to Ms. Davis and began pressuring Ms. Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women.”
The suit also alleges false imprisonment, religious and racial harassment, and interference with prospective economic advantage, although not all charges are being brought against all three defendants.
“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 plaintiffs’ lawyer Ron Zambrano said in a statement.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
