Lizzo‘s fifth studio album, “B-TCH,” released early this month, received a lukewarm response, making a challenging return to music for the Grammy-winning singer. Many are speculating about the album’s underwhelming performance, with some pointing out Lizzo’s involvement in an ongoing lawsuit against her former backup dancers.
Her primary accusers are speaking out about Lizzo’s latest album and how it may have impacted her career.
Lizzo’s new album, “B-TCH,” has struggled to match the success of her previous releases, prompting some critics to describe it as a flop.
The album sold just over 2,600 copies in its first week, along with 2.7 million on-demand streams, with sales plummeting to 650 units the second week. In contrast, her 2022 album, “Special,” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with 39,000 copies sold in the first week.
While many factors may have contributed to the album’s underwhelming performance, many believe it’s partly due to Lizzo’s ongoing legal battle with her former dancers, Noelle Rodriguez, Arianna Davis, and Crystal Williams.
The three spoke with CNN, saying they have mixed feelings about the trajectory of Lizzo’s career. Regardless of their emotions, they claim their intention in filing the lawsuit was not to “take down” Lizzo. “It was never an intention to take down a plus-size woman of color specifically,” Rodriguez said.
The Dancers Are Committed To Pursuing The Case
Lizzo’s former dancers say it isn’t their place to talk about the state of the singer’s career. Speaking on behalf of the group, Rodriguez said, “I don’t really think it’s our place to discuss or even have an opinion on how her career is going at this point, when that wasn’t even our reason for filing in the first place.”
In 2023, Rodriguez, Davis, and Williams filed a lawsuit against Lizzo and her production company, claiming body-shaming, sexual harassment, and workplace hostility. The legal battle is still ongoing.
Rodriguez added that the lawsuit wasn’t a “smear campaign” against Lizzo. Rather, they want to hold the singer accountable for the values she has built her public image around.
“I think if anything, in retrospect, I’ve actually had some sadness in the fact that it has impacted her career,” Rodriguez said.
Lizzo Has Consistently Denied The Allegations
In August 2023, Lizzo, dance captain Shirlene Quigley, and production company Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc. were named in a lawsuit, in which Rodriguez, Davis, and Williams alleged they were sexually harassed, worked in a hostile environment, and were body-shamed, in addition to other allegations, such as religious and racial harassment, and false imprisonment.
Lizzo clapped back at the accusations, saying the claims were “false” and “outrageous.” In 2024, she spoke about the controversy, saying she was “deeply hurt” and completely blindsided by the lawsuit. “These were people that I liked and appreciated as dancers, respected them as dancers. So I was like, ‘What?!’” Lizzo said, adamantly denying all the claims.
“The hardest part about all this is that none of these things were true,” the singer said.
What Remains Of The Dancers’ Lawsuit Against The Singer?
In December 2025, a judge dismissed the dancers’ fat-shaming allegations from the lawsuit, which Lizzo considered a small win. “There was no evidence I fired them because they gained weight. They were fired for taking a private recording of me without my consent and sending it off to ex-employees,” the singer noted.
However, the majority of the lawsuit will still move forward with the sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims. Lizzo is adamant about fighting the case in court. In a video she posted on TikTok, the singer wrote that she does not plan to settle and “will be fighting every single claim until the truth is out.”
The case is currently before the California Court of Appeal, and both parties are awaiting a court date for oral argument.
Lizzo Addressed Her Low Album Sales
On the “Proto Pop” podcast, the singer candidly talked about the lukewarm response to her latest album, admitting that she took it to heart. “I think that there was like, 24 hours of my life where I based my success and my worth on a number. And I think that was soul-crushing,” she explained.
Even before the album’s release, Lizzo took to social media, saying her record label, Atlantic Records, failed to promote it properly. Moreover, Lizzo cited the changing music landscape as one of the reasons behind her album’s poor commercial performance.
Despite the challenges, Lizzo noted that she isn’t in a rush for people to connect with her music and believes “B-TCH” has some of the “best stuff” she’s ever written.
