Music

Lizzo is speaking out for the first time since being sued by three of her former backup dancers who claim she sexually harassed them.

The singer posted a statement Thursday, just days after she was sued. The singer says, "These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed."

She continues, "These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional."

She went on, "As an artist I have always been very passionate about what I do. I take my music and my performances seriously because at the end of the day I only want to put out the best art that represents me and my fans. With passion comes hard work and high standards. Sometimes I have to make hard decisions but it's never my intention to make anyone feel uncomfortable or like they aren't valued as an important part of the team."

She adds, "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. 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. There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight."

She concludes her statement, "I'm hurt but I will not let the good work I've done in the world be overshadowed by this. I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support to lift me up during this time."

As we reported ... three of Lizzo's former backup dancers -- Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez -- claim she subjected them to nude entertainment shows in Amsterdam and Paris on tour earlier this year, to what they say was the clear discomfort of her employees.

In the docs, the women say Lizzo pressured dancers to interact with sex performers at Bananenbar in Amsterdam, where patrons are known to eat bananas out of the performer's vaginas.

Two of Lizzo's accusers, Davis and Williams, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us what their experiences were working for Lizzo ... alleging all of her dancers operate in fear of losing their jobs if they don't bend to her demands and get rewarded for playing ball.

Beyoncé seemingly caught wind of the lawsuit too ... Bey noticeably failed to mention Lizzo by name in the lyrics for one of her songs during a concert in Boston as part of her "Renaissance" tour.

We covered the story on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

A couple of big Taylor Swift fans are out lots of loot and a great show ... showing up at the venue a day after the concert went down!!!

Bear Silber tells TMZ ... he snagged a pair of tickets for him and his wife months ago for what he thought was Taylor's show this past Saturday in Santa Clara, CA.

He paid $500 for the tickets, and coughed up $60 for parking. They arrived at Levi's Stadium with unbridled excitement, got through a security checkpoint and presented their tickets.

Imagine their shock when the tickets were scanned and they were told their tickets were for Friday night, not Saturday.

To say they were crestfallen is an understatement. As for who screwed up, well, Bear says he slept on the sofa Saturday night.

There is a happy ending to this story. Bear somehow snagged a second set of tickets for Taylor's show in Inglewood this coming Saturday. He has to work so he's not going, but his wife and her friend will be there. Those 2 tickets set him back $2,600. Oh, they live in Oakland so the flight will put him back another $600.

Britney Spears' ex-husband, Jason Alexander, is in police custody for stalking ... TMZ has learned.

According to online records, Alexander's being held in a Tennessee jail. He was booked around 10:30 Wednesday morning ... and is currently being held on $50K bond. Unclear when he's due in court.

Of course, it's not the first time Jason -- who was married to Britney for just 55 hours in 2004 after a Vegas ceremony -- has been in trouble with the law.

TMZ broke the story, Jason busted into Britney Spears' home on her wedding day back in June 2022 repeatedly saying he needed to talk to Britney, despite the fact he wasn't even on her wedding guest list.

Alexander made it as far as Britney's bedroom door, cops say he was armed with a knife, but thankfully never came face-to-face with Britney. He was eventually pinned down outside the home by employees setting up for the wedding until cops arrived and took him into custody.

Britney got a 3-year restraining order against Jason for the incident, and he was hit with a slew of charges including felony stalking, vandalism, and trespassing battery.

He pleaded no contest to aggravated trespass and battery, both misdemeanors, and two charges were dismissed -- felony stalking and misdemeanor vandalism. Jason was sentenced to 128 days in jail for the wedding fiasco.

Diddy will have to find another cannabis company to capitalize on, as the Bad Boy mogul's intended $185 million purchase to acquire a pair of marijuana operations is no longer going down.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Diddy waited in the wings as Cresco Labs and Columbia Care planned their proposed merger that was agreed upon last year.

However, we're told the shareholders never reached an agreement, and Diddy's deal was terminated earlier this week as a consequence. Diddy's team tells us he and his Combs Global empire still have a vested interest in pursuing opportunities to diversify the cannabis industry ... they just have to find the perfect fit.

The move would've made Diddy the owner of 9 stores throughout New York, Massachusetts and Illinois, with each having its own production facility ... effectively making him the biggest Black cannabis business owner.

Before these two loving sisters were famous singers and actresses, they were just looking after each other in Tennessee with their 4 other siblings, bringing their dreams to fruition ... and securing their spot in Hollywood!

These famous siblings come from a talented lineage ... like their father whose known for his long locks and songs like "Achy Breaky Heart!" And with both of these sisters on their own paths and journeys, they've also worked together on several occasions ... acting side by side on a hit Disney show, and singing a duet to Dolly Parton's "Jolene"!

Travis Scott's "Utopia" is headed to a No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 -- but not all of the album's participants are celebrating.

Rapper KayCyy, who worked closely with Kanye West on his "Donda" album, is reaming Travis for not crediting him on the track "Thank God" ... despite his vocals being heard on the track.

KayCyy couldn't contain his anger and lashed out at Travis after fans kept pestering him about being left off the credits ... rapper Teezo Touchdown's name made the cut.

Another fan noted how Travis didn't acknowledge KayCyy's appreciation for the album on social media when it dropped last Friday ... another indicator for the Minnesota-bred rapper that Travis could be trying to avoid sharing the royalties altogether.

Interestingly enough, KayCyy initially began working on "Thank God" for Ye's "Donda" before it ended up in Trav's "Utopia" desert.

Lizzo makes it clear her backup dancers will face repercussions if they don't do what she asks, even if that means getting freaky at a live sex show ... at least, that's what 2 of the women suing her are claiming.

The singer's former backup dancers, Arianna Davis, and Crystal Williams, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and told us about their experiences working under Lizzo.

Arianna and Crystal accused Lizzo of coercing backup dancers to participate in nude cabaret shows ... and they say there's an unspoken feeling among the group of having to bend to Lizzo's demands or be fired if they don't play ball.

As they allege in the lawsuit, sometimes that means eating bananas out of sex performers' vaginas in Amsterdam -- and they told us dancers who went along with Lizzo's idea of fun were rewarded with lavish private jet trips to tropical locations.

On the flip side, they claim dancers who didn't feel comfortable doing everything Lizzo wanted would be threatened with termination.

As for why they're no longer working with Lizzo -- Crystal says she was accused of drinking before performances, and Arianna claims Lizzo body-shamed her for gaining weight ... and she claims Lizzo used an admission of an eating disorder to justify firing her.

Lizzo has yet to comment publicly, or respond to the lawsuit in court ... but her accusers have a lot to say here.

Gunna's not hiding from his public enemy status with Young Thug loyalists -- instead, he's embracing the villain role in his new "Rodeo Dr." video by likening himself to O.J. Simpson!!!

Veteran director Spike Jordan captured Gunna zipping all through California as they reenacted O.J.'s infamous 1994 police chase ... the same one he led cops on for nearly an hour after he was charged with murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

The song is featured on Gunna's new album and the YSL rapper mentions the chase on the track's chorus ... "Helpin' the P out, I'm beamin' on Narcos/Thinkin' I should take the Bronco, yeah/O.J., yeah)/Gotta go get it tomorrow."

Many fans, and even artists, have ripped Gunna since he got out of jail back in December ... claiming he snitch on Thug get out -- but he restates his allegiance to YSL on the track with the line, "I'm still doin' it for Jeff and Lil Keed."

O.J. was found not guilty of the murder, and Gunna will avoid jail time as long as keeps his nose clean in accordance with his probation. Not a direct parallel, but obviously, Gunna thinks it's close enough.

His album has plenty of juice this year ... it spawned his biggest hit to date with "Fukumean" ... which has since proven to be tasty ex-girlfriend bait.

Lizzo kept an eye on the famed banana sex show in Amsterdam for years ... sharing her desires way before being sued for allegedly pressuring backup dancers to get in on the act.

Here's the deal ... Lizzo talked about wanting to go to a specific live sex show in the city's infamous Red Light District during a 2019 interview with an Amsterdam radio station ... the same show she's now being sued over.

In her interview with 3FM DJ Frank van der Lende, Lizzo reveals her love for live sex shows in Amsterdam ... and she asks the hosts about the banana sex show, where patrons eat bananas out of sex performers' vaginas.

Lizzo excitedly talks about her desire to find out where the banana show happens ... explaining, "That's what I want to do, I need my potassium if you know what I'm saying. My puss-tassium."

The radio hosts tell Lizzo the place she's looking for is Bananenbar ... a venue that's mentioned several times in the lawsuit she's now facing.

As we reported ... Lizzo is being sued by 3 of her former backup dancers, who say they were sexually denigrated by Lizzo while on the job.

In the suit, the dancers claim during a February 2023 tour stop in Amsterdam, Lizzo took them to Bananenbar and pressured them to interact with the sex performers.

The dancers claim "Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching dildos launched from the performers' vaginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers' vaginas."

It's unclear if the alleged incident was Lizzo's first time at Bananenbar ... but she's clearly had the banana sex show on her mind since 2019 at least.

Houston rapper Big Pokey collapsed mid-performance back in June ... an unfortunate result of a heart attack, his autopsy has revealed.

Tom Gillam III, Justice of the Peace for Jefferson County, Texas, signed Pokey's death certificate this week ... highlighting the medical condition.

"The cause of death, in layman's terms, 'Big Pokey' had a massive heart attack ... He had hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease," Gilliam said in a statement.

Pokey collapsed while performing at a bar in Beaumont, TX on June 18 and died shortly after being rushed to a nearby hospital.

He was 45 years old and left behind a pioneering hip hop legacy for the Lone Star State as a member of the DJ Screw's "Screwed Up Click" ... counting the likes of Slim Thug, Paul Wall and BFF Lil Keke as mourners.

Taylor Swift gave away way more money in bonuses than previously known -- in fact, it was more like tens of millions ... TMZ has confirmed.

Sources tell us Taylor did, in fact, shell out north of $50 million for every member of the 'Eras' tour crew -- that includes the $100k per trucker we previously reported, which itself came out to about $5 million, seeing how there's around 50 guys hauling her tour equipment from city to city.

There was a lot more dough to go around as it turns out. We're hearing that the additional $45 million-plus was divvied up among everyone working on her tour ... including sound techs, caterers, stagehands, backing musicians, etc. Of course, her backup dancers got paid too. People reported it was about $55 million total given out.

Now, it's unclear what amount each department received -- but our sources say the dancers and others did get more than, say, the truckers did ... which was already a hell of a lot.

Point is ... TayTay opened up her wallet and took care of her people in a big way, something that's unheard of in this day and age of big act tours. Considering how much dough the 'Eras' tour has generated -- upwards of a billion dollars -- it's safe to say ... she can afford it.

As you know, the U.S. leg of the 'Eras' tour is winding down -- she's doing her final 6 shows here in L.A. starting Thursday at SoFi Stadium, and wrapping up next Wednesday.

Stephen Curry's not ashamed to say he's gone fishing this offseason ... the NBA legend grabbed his boat and pole to star in Grammy-nominated lyricist Tobe Nwigwe's new video -- which is the theme song for his new documentary!!!

On Tuesday, Steph starred in the "Lil Fish, Big Pond" music vid, which Tobe directed to exclusively accompany the soundtrack of "Stephen Curry: Underrated" ... the documentary about Steph's life and career.

The two-time MVP is cool, calm and collected in his bucket hat while lip-syncing the song's lyrics that define his greatness on the court -- "They know I'm the one/Daddy taught me how to flick my wrist, I'm my father's son/Think I'm pistol-packing, how that ratchet on me like a gun/They should put the basket in a casket after I am done."

Tobe has built a reputation for having colorful visuals and 'Lil Fish' is no exception. It also really allows Steph to revel in his offseason ... he doesn't touch a single basketball in the whole clip!!!

Steph's downtime without b-ball has literally been par for his course this summer ... the sports world is still reeling from the hole-in-one he sank a few weeks back.

Angus Cloud's death was top of mind during his costar and friend Dominic Fike's concert -- and he delivered a moving moment, reminiscing with the audience about Angus.

The singer and 'Euphoria' star -- who acted alongside Angus during Season 2 -- addressed his costar's sudden passing during his show Tuesday night in Houston ... and shared some very personal feelings with the crowd.

Check it out ... Dominic says he just lost a friend, and then goes on to muse about the larger implications of that -- and how getting the news instantly made everything else so trivial.

You can tell he's getting pretty introspective here, openly wondering whether performing the concert was appropriate considering the tragedy -- but then he answers his own question, saying Angus would've wanted him to go on and do what he loves.

Dominic also had this to say about AC ... the guy operated on a certain wavelength and his energy was palpable, making him standout among a star-studded cast, including Zendaya.

TMZ broke the story ... Angus was found dead in Oakland Monday, and his mother called 911 to report her son didn't have a pulse. Cops discussed it as a possible overdose, and Angus' family has indicated he may have taken his own life in the wake of his father's death.

Lizzo isn't sitting at Beyoncé's table right now in the wake of claims made against her by a few former backup dancers -- at least that's how it seems after this apparent Bey sting.

The singer was doing a show in Boston Tuesday -- as part of her "Renaissance" tour -- and during her performance of "Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)" ... Beyoncé noticeably failed to mention Lizzo's name in the lyrics, despite having done so repeatedly in the past.

If you're unfamiliar, Lizzo is actually written into the remix -- meaning her name is supposed to appear in the song naturally, so the fact Bey switched it up live is telling.

The name-drop happens in verse 3, where Beyoncé is listing a bunch of trailblazing women -- which normally includes Lizzo as well -- but on this particular outing ... Bey omitted her and instead chose to mention Erykah Badu 4 different times (more on this later).

Of course, to some ... it felt like, perhaps, Beyoncé had caught wind of the lawsuit filed against Lizzo Tuesday -- which had some pretty scandalous accusations in it, like the notion that she allegedly coerced her backup dancers to participate in nude cabaret shows ... not to mention allegedly badgering/body-shaming one of the dancers over a weight issue.

The internet certainly chatted about it yesterday, and now with this ... some are assuming Beyoncé did as well, and possibly made a decision to leave her off her 'BMS' list.

Now, there's another explanation for this would-be snub. As we reported ... there's bad blood between Erykah and Beyoncé right now. The former called out the latter for ripping off her fashion sense ... this 'cause Bey's worn similar 'fits onstage that echo EB's style.

It was a pretty public call-out ... and you could interpret Beyoncé's move as a response to Erykah stirring the pot. Eye of the beholder, we suppose ... but a choice was certainly made.

Angus Cloud may have been struggling ahead of his surprising death, but it didn't affect his mood while with his closest friends ... and he was actually offering them support before he passed.

The "Euphoria" star was outwardly celebratory and uplifting to his pals at the MacArthur Maze album release party 3 days before his death, according to group members D.Bledsoe and Champ Green.

As we reported, Angus seemed to be in great spirits at the event, and the rappers tell us he was congratulating everyone involved in the album. We're told Angus was getting a lot of attention from partygoers ... but he wasn't there for attention, he just wanted to show love.

D.Bledose says Angus had to soothe his lips with lip balm mid-conversation that night at the party, and Angus laughed and apologized for making things awkward. It was a funny interaction, and one D is remembering fondly today.

A few weeks ago, Angus gave the rap group a big endorsement by sharing one of their music videos on his IG page. We're told Angus slid into the group's DMs and offered to shoot a music video for them -- alongside MacArthur Maze's videographer, who was close friends with Angus.

Of course, everyone involved with the group is now just in complete shock about his death.

Beyoncé is honoring a man who was stabbed to death -- allegedly because he was dancing to her music in public -- and she's doing it a heartfelt message on one of her biggest platforms.

The singer paid tribute to 28-year-old O'Shae Sibley on her website, with a message that reads ... "Rest In Power O'Shae Sibley." It's the first thing you see when you go to beyonce.com, where it's prominently displayed on the homepage.

Sibley was fatally stabbed over the weekend at a Brooklyn gas station after getting into a scuffle with another man ... and cops are reportedly investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

Sibley was gay and leading up to the confrontation, witnesses say he was voguing in the parking lot to Beyoncé's tracks. Authorities think the altercation might have started because the suspect was reacting to Sibley dancing, according to the NY Post.

Part of the face-off was actually captured by a surveillance camera outside ... and you can see quite a few people arguing.

The actual stabbing happens off-camera, but you can see Sibley (who's shirtless and wearing a hat) and a friend getting heated with an opposing group. Eventually, Sibley goes around a corner ... and moments later you see him come back into frame.

One of his pals who was there on the scene that night posted bloody photos of the aftermath, claiming the attacker was Muslim and let them know he didn't like gay people.