Lizzo Announces ‘Gap Year’ Amid Dancer Lawsuits

Lizzo is ready to focus on herself after a whirlwind year of legal trouble.

The singer took to Instagram on Aug. 25 to announce that she is taking a year off of making music to focus on her personal life. In the video, Lizzo steps out in the rain while wearing a black swimsuit, captioning the post, “I’m taking a gap year & protecting my peace.”

She released her fourth studio album, Special, more than two years ago in July 2022. Though she released the song “Pink” for the 2023 Barbie movie soundtrack, she hasn’t dropped any new music since–and now, it looks like fans will have to wait even longer for any new releases.

Lizzo’s decision to take a break comes a little over a year after three of her former dancers filed a lawsuit against the performer.

In the complaint, filed in August 2023, the dancers accused Lizzo of creating an “abusive work environment” and weight-shaming them. Lizzo repeatedly denied these claims, including in an Instagram statement, in which she called the dancers’ accusations “sensationalized tales.”

After receiving criticism from the public due to the claims in the lawsuit, Lizzo later announced her plans to “quit,” though she didn’t specify what, exactly, she was quitting.

“I’m getting tired of putting up with being dragged by everyone in my life and on the internet,” she wrote in her Instagram statement on March 29. “All I want is to make music and make people happy and help the world be a little better than how I found it. But I’m starting to feel like the world doesn’t want me in it.”

She continued, “I’m constantly up against lies being told about me for clout & views,” Lizzo continued, “being the butt of the joke every single time because of how I look… my character being picked apart by people who don’t know me and disrespecting my name.”

“I QUIT,” Lizzo concluded.

The singer later clarified that she wasn’t quitting music, like many expected.

“What I’m not going to quit is the joy of my life, which is making music, which is connecting with people,” she said in an Instagram video on April 2. “Because I know I’m not alone. In no way shape or form am I the only person who is experiencing that negative voice which seems to be louder than the positive.”

Following the first complaint, Lizzo was hit with sexual harassment allegations from six additional employees. The performer was also sued by Asha Daniels, who worked in Lizzo’s wardrobe department for her 2023 tour. In the lawsuit, Daniels claimed she was verbally and physically abused by the singer’s wardrobe manager, Amanda Nomura.

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