What Happened to Lizzo? A Simple Guide to the Star’s Changing Fortunes

Lizzo’s New Album Wasn’t a Big Hit

In early June, pop star Lizzo released her fifth album. But this time, things didn’t go the way they usually did for the four-time Grammy winner.

Unlike her super-famous hits like "Truth Hurts" and "About Damn Time," her new album fell flat:

• It was streamed less than a million times on Spotify in its first 24 hours.
• It sold fewer than 3,000 copies in its first week.
• It didn’t even make it into the Billboard Top 200 albums chart for two whole weeks!

Once, Lizzo was all over the internet and TV, famous for her self-love and body positivity messages along with her catchy songs. Now, people are asking, "What happened to her?"

Was It the Algorithm’s Fault?

Lizzo herself has a theory! On TikTok, she explained that the way social media works today might be hurting the music industry.

What’s an algorithm? Think of it as a robot helper on your phone that decides what you see. Lizzo says this robot sometimes shows you new things out of order, so people might not even know when a new album is coming out.

But There’s Also a Lawsuit

Many other people have different ideas about why Lizzo’s star has dimmed. A big event happened in 2023: three former dancers sued Lizzo.

The dancers are:

• Noelle Rodriguez
• Arianna Davis
• Crystal Williams

They accused Lizzo, her company (Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc.), and her dance captain of creating a hostile work environment. Their specific claims included:

• Sexual harassment
• Body shaming
• General harassment

Important Point: Despite these claims, Lizzo’s lawyer says the allegations are completely false. She says 18 other witnesses refuted them, including most of the other dancers from the tour. Lizzo stands by her innocence.

What the Dancers Say

Rodriguez recently spoke out to explain their side:

"It was never our intention to take down a woman of color… It was never to take somebody down."

Davis, Williams, and Rodriguez all joined Lizzo’s dance team excitedly, feeling it was an important job, especially for women with bigger bodies. They say they’re now determined to see their lawsuit through, not to attack Lizzo, but to hold her accountable to the values of kindness she publicly taught.

What Lizzo’s Supporters Say

Other people on Lizzo’s team disagree. Chawnta’ Van, another dancer, said the allegations left her "blindsided" and "heartbroken." She thought everyone was a team.

When the tour was canceled after the lawsuit, Van said it was really hard because dancers work gig by gig and that was her income.

Lizzo’s Amazing Rise to Fame

To understand the full picture, it helps to remember how Lizzo got here. When she burst onto the big scene in 2019, it felt like a new day. Here was this force of musical genius and personal charm, living unapologetically as herself—a plus-sized Black woman. She inspired millions with her message of self-love, though she also faced huge public scrutiny.

When people criticized her bold fashion choices, she famously responded:

"It doesn’t really matter what goes on on the internet, nothing really breaks my joy… I’m shocking because you’ve never seen a body like mine doing whatever it wants to do."

This fame and boldness made the lawsuit claims especially shocking to fans.

A Big Contradiction?

The lawsuit claims say that behind closed doors, Lizzo was sometimes body shaming her dancers and pushing them into uncomfortable, sexualized activities. Crystal Williams pointed out this huge contradiction:

"Her whole brand was positivity in general… uplifting women, especially women of color… whenever doors were closed, whenever we were in private meetings, it was the entire opposite."

Lizzo has firmly denied these accusations, writing on social media that she would never criticize an employee for their weight, as she knows what daily body shaming feels like.

Where Is the Lawsuit Now?

The legal case is moving slowly through the California courts. In 2024, a judge removed the body-shaming accusations from the case, but other claims remain. The dancers’ lawyer says they are now waiting for the appeals court to schedule hearings. Lizzo has refused to settle, telling the "Today" show she "is not afraid of the truth coming out."

What About Lizzo’s Weight Loss?

After the lawsuit came out, Lizzo took a break from the spotlight. When she came back in 2024, she looked noticeably slimmer, which surprised many fans.

Here’s what Lizzo says happened:

• In 2023, she started losing weight by doing Pilates to deal with the pain of the lawsuit.
• She felt her "identity being overshadowed by my fatness" and tired of people saying she made "being fat" her personality.
• She stopped being vegan, adding foods like eggs and chicken, and even made a playful commercial for a restaurant chain!

However, some fans are wondering if Lizzo is now trying to fit into the very standards of beauty she used to challenge. Some critics have even called it a case of "weight loss for me, but not for thee" because she still criticizes the system that pressures celebrities.

Why Does This All Matter?

This situation shows how complicated fame can be. Many people, like activist Tigress Osborn, say that Lizzo made her body size a big part of her "brand."

Osborn explains: If you want fans to relate to you as a regular person, you have to just be a person. If you want them to relate to your brand, then those fans might leave when the brand changes.

For the three dancers suing Lizzo, watching it all has been painful. They don’t listen to her music anymore. They just want the facts to come out and for Lizzo to be held accountable.

Summary: The Lizzo Story

To recap the main points:

• Lizzo’s new album didn’t do nearly as well as her past work.
• She blames social media algorithms for people not hearing about it.
• Three former dancers have a ongoing lawsuit accusing Lizzo of a hostile work environment and body shaming.
• Lizzo and her team strongly deny these accusations.
• Her recent weight loss has confused some fans who saw her as a permanent champion of body positivity.
• Supporters say she made body size part of her public brand, which is hard to balance with being a real, changing person.
• The lawsuit is still making slow progress in court.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why did Lizzo’s latest album fail to make the Billboard 200?
The album had very low streaming numbers and album sales. The singer suggested that social media algorithms hide new music release dates from fans, so many people didn’t know it had even come out.

2. Who sued Lizzo and what are the accusations?
Three former dancers—Noelle Rodriguez, Arianna Davis, and Crystal Williams—accused Lizzo, her company, and her dance captain of sexual harassment, body shaming, and creating a hostile work environment.

3. Did Lizzo admit to the claims in the lawsuit?
No. Lizzo and her lawyers strongly deny all the allegations. Her lawyer even said that 18 other witnesses came forward to contradict the claims made by the three dancers.

4. What do Lizzo’s former dancers want now?
The three women say they aren’t trying to ruin Lizzo’s career. They say they want the legal facts and evidence to be heard in court and want Lizzo to be held accountable for any mistreatment.

5. Why is Lizzo’s weight loss so controversial?
For years, Lizzo was a global symbol of body positivity for plus-sized women. Some people now feel that her physical transformation contradicts that message, though she says she just wanted to get healthier.