A federal judge has thrown out a sexual and racial harassment lawsuit against Lizzo's touring company, ruling that the alleged workplace misconduct did not meet the legal threshold required under civil rights law. U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha granted summary judgment Tuesday in favor of Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc., finding that the conduct described amounted to what he called the “ordinary tribulations of the workplace” rather than an illegal hostile work environment.
The ruling closes out a case originally brought in 2023 by Asha Williams, a former tour employee who worked as a wardrobe stylist on Lizzo's 2023 Special Tour, according to TMZ. Williams sued Lizzo, Big Grrrl Big Touring, and members of the singer's team, alleging that members of Lizzo's team made racist and fatphobic comments and that she was made to work unthinkable hours during her time on the tour. Judge Aenlle-Rocha found there was no evidence that wardrobe manager Amanda Nomura used racial slurs, and he determined that an alleged foot injury caused by a clothing rack rolling over Williams' foot did not satisfy the legal requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as reported by The Guardian.
A Legal Battle That Had Already Been Narrowing
Tuesday's decision was the culmination of a case that had been shrinking for months. Claims against Lizzo individually had already been dismissed back in 2024, and the case suffered another setback in October 2025 when U.S. Magistrate Judge Pedro V. Castillo recommended precluding Williams from presenting therapist records or expert testimony about emotional distress, after finding she had failed to comply with federal discovery rules, per Thompson Coburn LLP's legal analysis. That sanction stripped away a significant piece of the evidentiary foundation Williams would have needed to prove emotional harm at trial.
Court filings from December 2023 also showed that Williams worked on the tour's European leg for less than three weeks before being terminated, with the defense citing the alleged abandonment of her post during a concert stop in Paris, according to reporting from The Root. Williams had been hired as a wardrobe stylist in February 2023 before her March 2023 discharge.
Both Sides React to the Dismissal
Melissa Glass, an attorney for Lizzo, said the court's ruling was a total victory for Lizzo, her touring company, and the other defendants, adding that there was never any basis for the claims against Lizzo, her touring company, her tour manager, or her wardrobe manager, per TMZ. Glass said she plans to explore avenues to enforce her clients' rights going forward.
Williams' attorney, Ron Zambrano, criticized the decision and said his legal team is evaluating next steps, arguing the court improperly weighed evidence that should have gone before a jury, according to Hollywood Unlocked. Summary judgment is granted only when a judge finds no genuine dispute of material fact for a jury to resolve, meaning Zambrano's team would need to show the judge erred in that determination to have any hope of reviving the case.
Lizzo herself denied the harassment claims and said the allegations were false and unbelievable. In a video released after the ruling, she said she was stunned by the initial lawsuit from an employee she had never met and reiterated her commitment to fighting false allegations, according to Rolling Out.
A Separate, Higher-Profile Case Still Looms
This dismissal is distinct from a separate civil lawsuit filed in August 2023 in Los Angeles Superior Court by former backup dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez, which remains active against Lizzo, Big Grrrl Big Touring, and dance captain Shirlene Quigley, according to Forbes. That complaint alleges sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and a hostile work environment during the Special Tour. A court dismissed key fat-shaming allegations from that case in December 2025, narrowing its scope as it proceeds toward trial, per Complex.
Lizzo has said she refuses to settle that dancers' lawsuit out of court, telling CBS Mornings in May that the allegations are false and that she intends to testify at trial. Her fifth studio album, “Bitch,” performed weakly upon its 2026 release, which industry analysts have attributed in part to ongoing public focus on her legal disputes, according to Exclaim! Hoodline previously reported on how the mounting litigation and disappointing album sales collided in a rocky stretch for the Minneapolis-rooted star.
