Lizzo’s Latest Legal Battle Ends in Her Favor

Lizzo’s legal battles just got a little lighter. A discrimination and harassment lawsuit filed against the singer’s touring company by former wardrobe assistant Asha Daniels has been dismissed, according to court documents filed Tuesday, Sept. 1 and obtained and reported by PEOPLE.

The lawsuit, which Daniels first filed in 2023, included allegations of racial bias, harassment, discrimination and a hostile workplace while she worked on Lizzo’s Special Tour. But Judge Aenlle-Rocha ruled that Daniels had not provided enough evidence to support several of her claims under federal employment law.

The decision gives Lizzo and her touring company another significant win in a legal saga that has followed the singer since 2023.

In the ruling, Judge Aenlle-Rocha wrote that Daniels “did not identify any conduct” that would “demonstrate general hostility to women in the workplace or disparate treatment of men and women.”

The judge also determined that some of the incidents Daniels described, while inappropriate, did not rise to the level required for a federal workplace discrimination claim.

“This alleged conduct and these alleged incidents, while inappropriate and unprofessional, fall within the scope of what the Supreme Court has held to be outside the protection of Title VII, part of the ordinary tribulations of the workplace,” the judge wrote.

The ruling also dismissed Daniels’ racial bias claims, including her accusation that her boss, Amanda Nomura, used racial slurs at work.

“There is no evidence to suggest Nomura ever spoke a racial slur or referred to any specific Black person or Black people generally using racially offensive language,” the judge wrote.

Lizzo’s lawyer, Melissa Y. Glass of Singer Weinstein, Wolf & Jonelis LLP, shared a statement with PEOPLE celebrating the decision.

Glass described the ruling as “a total victory for Lizzo, her touring company and the other defendants named in Asha Daniels’ ludicrous lawsuit.”

“There was never any basis for Ms. Daniels to sue Lizzo, her touring company, her tour manager or her wardrobe manager. Indeed, the case against Lizzo was thrown out in December 2024. We are exploring all avenues to enforce our clients’ rights after this major win,” she wrote.

Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Jefferson, also addressed the dismissal on Instagram on Sept. 1.

“Today I am relieved to announce that I have won the case against me and my company Big Grrrl Touring,” she wrote in a caption over a video of her. “All the ridiculous claims by a wardrobe assistant who worked on tour for less than 3 weeks (including a claim they broke an acrylic nail) have been dismissed.

Lizzo called the claims “shocking because I was being sued by someone who admittedly never met me.”

“I prayed for the truth to come out, and thanks to my incredible lawyers, the truth has prevailed,” she wrote. “The truth matters more to me than anything, and I told y’all I will not settle and will continue to fight until every vicious claim that has been made against me and my businesses.”

Daniels’ attorney, Ron Zambrano, offered a very different reaction to the judge’s decision.

“We are disappointed by the Court’s ruling. While we respect the Court and the judicial process, we believe the decision improperly weighed evidence that should have been evaluated by a jury. In our view, the ruling appears to minimize evidence of a sexually charged work environment by assessing incidents too narrowly (i.e., pictures of penises and sexually charged comments by managers), rather than considering their cumulative impact,” he wrote.

Zambrano also challenged the judge’s handling of Daniels’ disability claim.

Added Zambrano: “We disagree that an employee twisting her ankle and limping while trying to work does not meet the legal standard of a disability under the ADA. These are important issues because these claims often depend on how a jury evaluates the full workplace environment, the surrounding context, and disputed facts. We respectfully disagree with the Court’s approach and are considering appropriate next steps.”

So, while the lawsuit has been dismissed, Daniels’ legal team is considering what could come next.

While Daniels’ lawsuit has now been dismissed, Lizzo’s legal story is not completely over.

The singer is still facing sexual harassment and assault lawsuits from three former backup dancers, Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis and Noelle Rodriguez. Those cases were filed in August 2023.

For now, though, the dismissal of Daniels’ lawsuit represents a major legal victory for Lizzo and her touring company, while Daniels’ legal team considers its next move.