Lizzo says she is ‘relieved’ at the ruling, pledges to keep fighting

A US district judge has dismissed the remaining claims in a lawsuit brought against Lizzo’s production company by a former wardrobe assistant who alleged she was subjected to sexual harassment, racial harassment, and other mistreatment while working for the singer in 2023.

US District Judge Fernando L Aenlle-Rocha filed the ruling on Tuesday to dismiss the claims by Asha Daniels, according to court documents. Daniels had sued Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc., the singer’s touring company, alleging she experienced “degradation, forced physical labor, denial of medical care, sexual harassment, and racial harassment” during her brief tenure with the company.

The judge wrote that Daniels did not identify conduct by company employees that would demonstrate “general hostility to women in the workplace” or “disparate treatment of men and women.” He added that the alleged conduct, “while inappropriate and unprofessional,” fell “within the scope of what the Supreme Court has held to be outside the protection” of the “ordinary tribulations of the workplace.”

The ruling also addressed Daniels’ allegation that her foot was run over by a heavy clothes rack. While the court “does not seek to minimise or disregard the pain” felt, the injuries “do not qualify as disabilities” under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the judge wrote.

Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, said in an Instagram post after the ruling that she was “relieved” at the outcome. “The truth matters to me more than anything,” she wrote, thanking her lawyers and pledging to “continue to fight every vicious claim” made against her and her businesses. She added that she would continue to use her platform to “spread positivity and light to the world” before signing off by sending love to her supporters.

The dismissal follows two earlier procedural wins for Lizzo’s team. In 2024, Judge Aenlle-Rocha ruled that Daniels could not sue the Grammy winner as an individual, though Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. remained a defendant. Allegations of fat-shaming from the same lawsuit were dismissed by a judge in 2025.

Daniels’ lawsuit was filed in September 2023 and followed a separate suit brought by three of Lizzo’s former tour dancers that included sexual harassment claims, which Lizzo’s team denies. BBC Newsbeat reported that it had contacted lawyers for both Lizzo and Daniels for comment.