The event coordination team at Jay Z’s Made In America Festival has announced that they are cancelling their annual event.
It is unclear why this year’s festivities have been cancelled, although in a statement, they said that it was because of “severe circumstances outside of production control.”
Many began to speculate the show was cancelled because of the recent allegations made against Lizzo, who was expected to headline this year’s festival.
Made In America was expected to place on September 2 and 3 at Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.
In their statement posted on social media, the Made In America team wrote: “Due to severe circumstances outside of production control, the 2023 Made In America festival will no longer be taking place. This decision has been difficult and has not been made lightly nor without immense deliberation.”
They did, however, state that they would begin planning for next year’s 2024 festival. A headliner has not been announced.
“No surprise when your headliner is literally being sued,” one person commented when the announcement was made.
“It’s bc Lizzo is getting cancelled,” wrote another.
“I blame Lizzo for all of this,” another chimed in.
On August 2, Shine My Crown reported Lizzo faced sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment accusations after three of her former dancers filed a lawsuit against the Truth Hurts star.
In the suit filed in early August, the dancers allege that the 35-year-old Detroit native pressured one of them to touch a nude performer in Amsterdam and subjected dancers to an “excruciating” audition after she accused them of drinking on the job.
Lizzo has long been known to promote body positivity but has been accused of berating a dancer because of her weight gain. The suit claims that the dancer was later fired because of a health condition.
The suit, obtained by NBC News, was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. It alleges Lizzo’s dance team captain, Shirlene Quigley, also engaged in inappropriate actions, including cajoling other performers, ridiculing those who had premarital sex, sharing lewd sexual fantasies, simulating oral sex and publicly speaking about the virginity of one of the dancers.
The suit’s plaintiffs – Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez – represented by attorney Ron Zambrano, names Melissa Viviane Jefferson (Lizzo’s legal name), her production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc., and Quigley as defendants.
The suit accuses Lizzo and her team of religious and racial harassment, false imprisonment and interference with prospective economic advantage, among and other allegations.
“The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralizing,” Zambrano said in a statement.
The suit does not indicate the amount the plaintiffs are seeking in damages but does state that the damages would cover emotional distress, unpaid wages, loss of earnings and attorney’s fees.
Meanwhile, Lizzo was recently seen in a social media clip telling a fan in Australia how beautiful she was and could “be the greatest dancer in the world.”
“The words that we say have a long-lasting effect on people,” Lizzo told the fan who said she has been the subject of bullying.
