A federal judge has dismissed a harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed by Lizzo’s former tour wardrobe designer, rejecting accusations that she faced “racist and fat phobic comments.”
Asha Daniels sued in 2023, shortly after Lizzo had been hit with a similar case from three of her backup dancers. She claimed she had suffered sexual harassment and racial, gender and disability discrimination during the European leg of Lizzo’s Special Tour.
But Lizzo herself was dismissed from the case in 2024, and on Tuesday (Sept. 1) a judge ended the lawsuit entirely. In a decision obtained and first reported by Billboard, Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha ruled that Daniels had failed to prove over years of litigation that Lizzo’s Big Grrrl Touring had actually violated any laws.
The accuser had pointed to “lewd gestures” and sexual jokes from a male co-worker who liked “penis-shaped candies” as evidence of a hostile workplace for women. But the judge said those incidents were isolated and not directed at her.
“Plaintiff did not identify any conduct… to demonstrate general hostility to women in the workplace or disparate treatment of men and women,” Judge Aenlle-Rocha wrote. “This alleged conduct and these alleged incidents, while inappropriate and unprofessional, fall within the scope of what the Supreme Court has held to be… part of the ordinary tribulations of the workplace.”
The judge also dismissed Daniels’ accusations of racial bias, including her claim that her boss, Amanda Nomura, had used racial slurs in the workplace: “There is no evidence,” the judge said, “to suggest Nomura ever spoke a racial slur or referred to any specific Black person or Black people generally using racially offensive language.”
In a statement to Billboard, Lizzo’s attorney Melissa Y. Glass called the decision a “total victory for Lizzo” in a “ludicrous” legal action: “There was never any basis for Ms. Daniels to sue Lizzo, her touring company, her tour manager or her wardrobe manager. Indeed, the case against Lizzo was thrown out in December 2024. We are exploring all avenues to enforce our clients’ rights after this major win.”
Ron Zambrano, lead counsel for Daniels, said he and his client were “disappointed” by a ruling that “improperly weighed evidence” that should have been sent to a jury trial: “In our view, the ruling appears to minimize evidence of a sexually charged work environment by assessing incidents too narrowly… rather than considering their cumulative impact,” Zambrano said. “We respectfully disagree with the Court’s approach and are considering appropriate next steps.”
The music world was shocked in 2023 when Lizzo was sued by three former dancers who claimed they had experienced sexual harassment, weight-shaming, and discrimination. Weeks later, Daniels filed her own case making similar accusations, including that she had been subjected to “racist and fat phobic comments” and had faced harassment in the workplace.
In 2024, Judge Aenlle-Rocha ruled that Lizzo herself could not be personally sued in the case. And last year, the star’s lawyers demanded that the claims against Big Grrrl Touring be thrown out, too — arguing that no evidence or testimony had turned up to support the accusations.
“Daniels is not a victim of discrimination or harassment, but a disgruntled former employee with an inflated ego, personal vendettas… and an unquenchable thirst for free publicity,” attorney Marty Singer wrote at the time. “Her frivolous lawsuit makes a mockery of true victims and the laws designed to protect them.”
On Tuesday (Sept. 1), Judge Aenlle-Rocha granted that request, handing Lizzo’s company a so-called summary judgment in its favor and dismissing Daniels’ case in its entirety.
Among other findings, the judge rejected accusations that the company broke the law when Nomura allegedly told her that Lizzo used racial slurs to describe other Black artists like Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion.
“Even when viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, no reasonable [judge or jury] could find that Nomura’s alleged statement that Lizzo, a Black woman, used unspecified racial slurs when referring to other famous Black women vocalists established an objectively racially hostile workplace environment,” the judge wrote.
The ruling will end Daniels’ case, but the separate lawsuit filed by the three dancers remains pending. The judge in that case dismissed some claims in 2024, but allowed many others to move ahead to trial. Lizzo’s attorneys are currently appealing that ruling, warning that the lawsuit could limit her “First Amendment right to perform her music and advocate for body positivity.”
