On Lizzo, Lies, And Letting God.
Pop music is one of those inescapable things. Kinda like capitalism. Pop culture in many ways IS capitalism. That dash of Dua Lipa you got with your Latte this morning was by design. Maybe you didn’t pause your podcast when you walked in to grab your mobile pick-up order and you missed it…but it happened. Undoubtedly, there was something upbeat and bubbly playing over the speaker of the cafe you just visited. Even if you are not a pop music fan per se, it’s easy to be overtaken by a familiar-feeling sound that cannot be blocked without great effort. You’re always exposed to the music and the artists. It seems to come with citizenship here in the US. Exactly like capitalism.
OK, I’ll stop avoiding it. At the time I’m writing this, 6 more dancers have come forward in the lawsuit against Lizzo, so we really can’t avoid it. By now we’ve all at least heard the news. If you haven’t, I urge you to check out this video by creator Tee Noir. She does a PHENOMENAL job of laying out the terms and details of the suit, and frankly, she hits all the points (like, on the nose). Now, we know show biz is fucked. It’s littered with trash humans making money via exploitation and humiliation. But this specific situation is seriously fucked because…well, usually those humans turn out to be terrible men. This particular human happens to be a woman. This human happens to be a fat, black, woman who has done all but write the book on body positivity. She is an incredibly talented woman that has grown as an artist in front of our faces. We all watched it happen, and we were ALL like “go awf bitch!”. This is really hard for some people, but it doesn’t really surprise me. Am I a little shocked that it was Lizzo?? Yes, of course. As I said, this is not the person that comes to mind when we hear about allegations of sexual harassment and fat-shaming…especially not the fat shaming. I was taken aback by all the details just like everyone else. But to be surprised that yet another famous, rich, person in power is doing literally all they can to be overall disgusting?? In HOLLYWOOD???? Yea, no. That part tracks.
Lizzo Be Eating
I started my professional dance journey as an adult in 2010, after already having incurred many bodily injuries. Although I wasn’t exactly new to dance, I was very new to the world of attending classes in studios like Broadway Dance Center, training & rehearsing regularly, and booking dance work. It was difficult getting my body to conform, but I was pushing because I learned quickly that this career is very body-focused. A piece of useful information in this business. One of my very first lessons was about the typecast. Literally, your looks are everything. That may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s a real tool used in the industry for assigning roles and choosing who gets to work. Your entire career can depend on how appealing or “sell-able” your appearance is to a casting director. For Lizzo, matching her body type was a key factor in getting hired. I used to take this personally, and while I still don’t fully agree with it, I understand it now as just another part of the business. With such attention and emphasis constantly placed on the body’s aesthetic and ability to sell sex, is it really surprising that 1) there are allegations of harassment in this suit, and 2) there was immediate fat shaming from the public? Although she built her entire brand on the idea that fat, black, women are not just beautiful but also valuable as they are, did Lizzo essentially let us know she aligns more with a society that believes the complete opposite?
overert Shadow
The first thing folks did when the news dropped was take to their socials and go to town, thumbs itching to compare her to every big thing they could think of. I expected nothing less from a society of consumers taught and encouraged by the industry itself. It’s definitely frustrating to learn something like this about someone who looks like her, knowing all of the work and energy that goes into fighting fatphobia, and how damaging it can be to that movement. On the one hand, I can understand those “eye for an eye” sentiments. A lot of what I read on social media threads and articles involved feelings of betrayal. Almost all who had something to say used some variation of the phrase “has the audacity to fat shame” and…I get it. What can be dangerous about this though, is it gives hate permission to permeate. Specifically, the hate from the people in power seeking to destroy us. It gives it permission to swoop in and continue to take our freedoms while we’re busy fighting about what someone looks like (or even other attributes like their gender). It can also overshadow the real problem: she’s a regular person that sexually harassed, berated, and humiliated her employees (allegedly)! Her appearance ultimately shouldn’t matter at all because no one should be treated in these ways by anyone in any context, especially not by their boss. Unfortunately, that is not our reality. We each have the task of holding space for the duality that is believing victims and protecting the people we love. Sometimes though, your problematic faves are just problematic, and they don’t get a pass.
This ain’t news
Do you notice that every time something like this happens to a celebrity, they only pay for it in the form of temporary social cancellation/death? If it’s unclear, let me say it like this: I am in no way, shape, or form defending or justifying Lizzo’s (alleged) actions & behavior, and she ABSOLUTELY should answer for them. But I have to wonder if she will. I mean, if she REALLY will. Is there a trial? Is she found guilty? Are there actual consequences? If I had a dime for every sexual predator in the dance community that got away with their weird-ass, slime-ball agendas, I could live comfortably off the grid for the rest of my life. We know who these people are and watch them continue booking jobs. So, sometimes I guess there’s just no price paid at all. It makes me think about cultivating safe spaces, and about what real atonement around these issues should look like. Have we lost faith that people are capable of accountability? If not, how do we ensure it, and which part is our responsibility to answer for as consumers of pop culture? Speaking of faith….
Mrs. Nelson Is Missing
I’m on that bandwagon. The “protect all women” bandwagon that is. It’s always innocent until proven guilty when it comes to women and POC for me. Hands down, always, no questions asked. When family could not get in touch with Shirlene Quigley back in 2016, the entire dance community rallied together. You should’ve seen how quickly folks mobilized. The shared posts to spread awareness. The phone calls. The people that helped look for her. I was locked in and I didn’t know Shirlene personally, but I knew she was one of “my people”. She just appeared to be some sweet girl who could be experiencing something horrible, and the fact that she was also a dancer made it feel close to home. “That could easily be me” was a thought I, and I’m sure many others shared. It’s always what comes to mind when you see stories like hers—another reason the subject of missing women shouldn’t be ignored. I have never attended a class taught by Shirlene, nor am I especially interested in her brand of movement. But again, this was someone in the community! We had to help. She was found days later, and while I don’t think she owed us an explanation as to what happened (most were just glad she was home and safe), It put Shirlene on my radar and made me follow her. I found myself checking in from time to time. I felt invested. After a while though, something about the way she began to curate her image online felt off. It indicated to me that there was more to her story. She seemed to always want us to see her as innocent. Hell, I’m sure that’s what Carlee Russle wanted as well, and we saw how that ended. That’s why hearing the allegations against Shirlene was challenging. It was hard because this is the dance captain. These are the people in leadership positions that we as dancers trust to guide us safely on these jobs. To help protect us, and to support us. To rally and fight for us the way we all did for her. I’m on the “protect all women” bandwagon, but if I’m honest, I’m a humanitarian first. It’s innocent until proven guilty with the awareness and understanding that all humans are capable of causing harm. ALL humans, and in fact, all of us do cause harm. No one is immune to making mistakes, and I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to own up and make up for their bad behavior. However, that takes a process of rehabilitation beginning with a conscious choice. If muhfuckas are out here CHOOSING to abuse other people, personally I cannot protect that. Woman or not. Period.
It’s About Damn Time
This feels like a good place for a disclaimer. While I no longer identify as a Christian, I do still have a spiritual relationship with God and Divine Spirit. Jesus was a symbol deeply ingrained in my Dominican upbringing and In fact, there’s little we can do to separate Christian principles even from American culture. We literally can’t escape it (remember, capitalism). I have no beef with Christians in general, but it is important to note that I do not agree with fundamentalist Christian ideals. These beliefs are often weaponized by conservative politicians creating legislature that harms marginalized people, by citizens against each other, and not to mention used for propagandizing the public into upholding systemic oppression. That said, I think this was the part of the lawsuit that actually made the most sense to me. I’m talking about the part that accuses Shirlene of being a bible-thumping tyrant. Not just because it was clear from her social media accounts that she is quite vocal about it, but because fundamentalist Christians have a special brand of toxic positivism that serves as a shield for them. The post she uploaded in response to the lawsuit is a perfect example of the weird deflection I’m talking about. It just seems delusional and completely tone-deaf, not to mention disrespectful to the victims. It really makes me wonder about the state of her mental & spiritual health. I wonder about this for both Shirlene and Lizzo that they would lash out at their own people like this. Everyone seems to be in a state of crisis, and it doesn’t look like it’s getting any better.
State of The Union
The double-edged sword that is the dance community can only really be experienced. I can’t even put into words the contrast in which we exist. On one end, there’s so much unity and camaraderie. On the other end, it’s everyone for themselves. As we speak, both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are on strike. These unions have a long history of fighting on behalf of their members and networks of writers and actors. Dancers don’t have anything like this. Not in practice, not even in theory. The Choreographer’s Guild formed last year in 2022, and officially opened membership this year for working choreographers. It may sound like the same thing, but I assure you it isn’t. These protections afforded to the creatives and leaders on a set do not extend to the ensemble dancers or background dancers. Unless you work extensively in film/television and you have a SAG card, you are on your own. You better hope you or someone on your team understands how to negotiate a contract. Organizations like Dancer’s Alliance have fought tirelessly to ensure a standard rate of pay for work in environments such as music videos, but we all know it’s not enough. It’s not enough when dancers like Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis, and Noelle Rodriguez endured horrible working conditions and inhumane treatment for a “dream job”. How can this incredible disparity exist? I for one feel we need more brave souls like these to come forward and tell their stories. The more we understand that our individual choices ultimately help shape our collective society, the more we see that without our participation violence cannot thrive.
I do hope all of the victims that have come forward receive justice, and that all of the parties involved find the help they need. We are all here just trying to survive. No need to make it more difficult for each other right?