Who is Shirlene Quigley? The dance captain named in the Lizzo lawsuit
Lizzo – widely considered to be the poster girl for inclusivity and body positivity – has been accused of creating a hostile work environment by three of her former dancers, Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis and Noelle Rodriguez, according to a lawsuit. Allegations, which included fat shaming and sexual harassment, were made public on Tuesday 1 August, after a 44-page suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The singer has since denied the accusations in a new statement, saying the last few days have been "gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing" and that stories have been "sensationalised". "My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticised," she added to an Instagram post. "Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed."
Alongside Lizzo (real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson), her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring and dance team captain, Shirlene Quigley have also been accused of wrongdoing. The lawsuit claims that those named were accountable for racial and religious harassment, assault, false imprisonment, disability discrimination, and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. It's noted that not every defendant was responsible for all of the accusations alleged, however, it states that no one stepped in to put a stop to the "inappropriate behaviour."
Of course, the lawsuit has raised an array of questions, with many curious as to who Quigley is and what her involvement was. Here's everything you need to know about the dance captain...
Who is Shirlene Quigley?
Quigley is the dance captain for Lizzo's team, which means she's in charge of all the dancers. The 39-year-old has held the position since 2019, which has seen her travel the world while touring with the singer.
Lizzo's dancers are called the Big Grrrls – they have their own Instagram account with a respectable 104K followers where fans can catch backstage action from shows and tours, plus stills and footage of performances.
Quigley has had a lot of involvement in the growth of the dance troupe, too. Most notably appearing as a judge alongside Lizzo on her Emmy-winning Amazon reality show, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls. The premise of the show saw the pair searching for dancers to join Lizzo's team of backup dancers for tour.
Who else has Shirlene Quigley worked with?
Quigley has a pretty impressive CV, and throughout her career (which has spanned over two decades) has worked with some very high-profile names. According to her website, her first big break was starring as one of Beyoncé's 'Uhh oh' girls in her 2003 Crazy in Love music video.
Since then, the dancer has worked with the likes of Rihanna, Missy Elliot, Jamie Foxx, Chris Brown, Destiny's Child, Ashanti, Mary J Blige, MJ Rodriguez, and the Isley Brothers.
Her website bio also notes that she was "one of the pioneers to bring high heels dance classes to the commercial dance studio scene."
What has Shirlene Quigley been accused of?
Quigley has reportedly been accused of being outspoken about her own sex life and subjecting the dancers to "luridly detailed stories about her masturbatory habits and sexual fantasies, occasionally taking breaks to publicly practice her oral sex skills on bananas," as per Insider.
The outlet also revealed that, while filming Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, where Davis was a contestant in 2021, Quigley would "routinely" bring up the dancer's virginity in conversations. The suit also detailed that she publicly mentioned her virginity in interviews without her consent.
NBC also reported the lawsuit states that Quigley (who is a practising Christian) was "proselytizing [pressuring people to convert] to other performers and deriding those who had premarital sex."
Shirlene Quigley posted a video to Instagram after the lawsuit went public
While Quigley has yet to address any of these accusations publicly, she did post a video to Instagram on Tuesday 1 August following the lawsuit going public.
"I just wanted to get on here really quick and say that God is so, so good. God loves you so, so, so, so, so much. No matter what you’re going through, even if you don’t love him, he loves you," she said in the footage.
Following the allegations placed against Quigley, some users expressed their views on the video.
"This is your only response?' one person penned, as another said: "Considering forcing religion on people in the workplace is part of what got you sued, maybe don’t respond by forcing it on the entire internet."
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