Lizzo Says Her Return to Music ‘Kind Of Crumbled’ After Lawsuits

Lizzo says her highly anticipated musical comeback was derailed by the fallout from sexual harassment and bullying allegations made against her by former employees. The singer detailed the challenges in a recent interview with New York magazine, explaining how the controversy impacted her strategy for releasing new music in a rapidly evolving industry.

Released in June, Lizzo’s mixtape My Face Hurts from smiling followed a period of three years of planning, but the artist admitted those plans “kind of crumbled” in the wake of the lawsuits. She explained that the music landscape had shifted significantly as the release of her 2022 album Special, leaving her feeling unprepared. “I put out those two singles, and it feels like I had a crash course in what putting music out as a pop artist in 2025 looks like, and it’s … engaging,” Lizzo said.

The lawsuits, filed in August 2023 by former backup dancers Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis, and noelle Rodriguez, allege sexual harassment, racial harassment, and the creation of a hostile work surroundings. Lizzo vehemently denied the allegations in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter), stating, “I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days.” She further clarified, “I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself, but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not.”

Despite the setbacks, Lizzo expressed a desire to redefine public perception. “I think I needed to drop those songs so I could subvert that expectation of me as, in turn, it created this new discovery that I really wanted,” she told New York magazine. “I wanted people to rediscover who I am and fall in love with her all over again.”