Judge Marc H. Epstein on Friday denied Lizzo's request to dismiss the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against her in August by three of her former dancers. The judge did however dismiss the charges against the artist for making the women participate in a nude photo session, which Arianna described as an embarrassing experience. He also dismissed the allegations that the dancers were put on a "soft hold" while they were not on tour, so they could not accept other jobs.
However, the prosecution's attorney, Ron Zambrano, reported that the singer will go to trial for other charges. As revealed by the lawyer in statements reported by Billboard, Lizzo will face charges for sexual, religious and racial discrimination, sexual harassment and forced visits to sex clubs. He believes that the lawsuit is moving in the right direction:
We’re very pleased with the judge’s ruling, and we absolutely consider it a victory on balance. He did dismiss a few allegations, including the meeting where Arianna was fat shamed, the nude photo shoot, and dancers being forced to be on ‘hold’ while not on tour. However, all the other claims remain, including sexual, religious and racial discrimination, sexual harassment, the demeaning visits to the Bananenbar in Amsterdam and Crazy Horse in Paris, false imprisonment, and assault. The ruling also rightfully signals that Lizzo – or any celebrity – is not insulated from this sort of reprehensible conduct merely because she is famous. We now look forward to conducting discovery and preparing the case for trial.
"Finding the right balance," Epstein's main mission
The judge stated that having to decide which parts of the lawsuit should be dismissed was not an easy task. In a 34-page report, Epstein said that the anti-SLAPP statute, the law that makes it easier to quickly end meritless lawsuits that also threaten free speech, did not cover all accusations.
For this reason, the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge explained that his mission in determining which accusations were appropriate and which were not was to "find the right balance" and try to "thread the needle":
This case presents a number of difficult issues. And the courts are rightfully wary of injecting themselves into the creative process. Finding the right balance is often no easy task, and this case is a perfect example. It is dangerous for the court to weigh in, ham-fisted, into constitutionally protected activity, but it is equally dangerous to turn a blind eye to allegations of discrimination or other forms of misconduct merely because they take place in a speech-related environment.
Lizzo is satisfied with the partial dismissal of the lawsuit
Lizzo is also satisfied with how the criminal process is going. In statements reported by NBC, the artist's spokesperson, Stefan Friedman, claimed that the singer and her team are "happy" that part of the lawsuit has been dismissed:
Lizzo is grateful to the judge for seeing through much of the noise and recognizing who she is — a strong woman who exists to lift others up and spread positivity. We plan to appeal all elements that the judge chose to keep in the lawsuit and are confident we will prevail.
Lizzo will go to trial for the prevailing accusations. As reported by ET, Lizzo, 35, requested a trial by jury and not a professional judge. The date for the trial has not been set.
