Lizzo‘s attorneys have petitioned the courts to seal documents related to the ongoing sexual harassment suit against her, claiming that failure to do so could result in a detriment to her business.
According to court documents obtained by Radar Online, the petition to seal the documents was filed on Thursday (December 21), stating that the “Good As Hell” singer worries that “documents, correspondence and testimony that contain sensitive, confidential information and/or proprietary business information, including employee compensation, contract negotiation, and third-party sensitive contact information” could be subjected to public scrutiny.
“These records, including portions of Declarations in support of the Motion and attached exhibits, should be ordered sealed to avoid any harm to the parties through their public disclosure,” Lizzo’s lawyers wrote in their petition, according to the outlet.
The judge has not yet ruled on the petition, as of this writing.
This is just the latest turn of events in the ongoing saga between Lizzo and her backup dancers.
Last month, lawyers representing Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez filed an opposition filing, saying that anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) statutes don’t protect Lizzo from facing legal repercussions for their allegations.
They wrote in the 19-page filing: “Can a global celebrity be forever insulated from civil liability because all their conduct is protected as free speech under the anti-SLAPP statute? Defendant Lizzo asks this Court to rule in exactly that fashion. Fortunately for all victims of celebrity malfeasance, the law says otherwise.”
They added: “In an apparent effort to dupe this Court, Defendants either cherry-pick allegations or outright omit allegations inconvenient to their position, instead sanitizing them with euphemisms.”
Lizzo’s representatives responded to the allegations in a statement to Rolling Stone, reminding them that many of her other employees backed her with statements of their own recently.
“Last month, 18 independent witnesses stood by Lizzo’s work ethic and character,” Stefan Friedman said. “It is clear that since then, these plaintiff lawyers have come up with exactly zero to refute these facts.”
As previously reported, Lizzo’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case in a Los Angeles court on October 27.
In the filing, the three women suing were described as having “an axe to grind” who had shown “a pattern of gross misconduct and failure to perform their job up to par.”
“Plaintiffs embarked on a press tour, vilifying defendants and pushing their fabricated sob story in the courts and the media,” it reads. “That ends today.
“Instead of taking any accountability for their actions, plaintiffs filed this lawsuit against defendants out of spite and in pursuit of media attention, public sympathy, and a quick payday with minimal effort.”
