Lizzo Wins Legal Victory as Judge Dismisses Fat-Shaming Claims

A judge has dismissed the fat-shaming allegations brought against Lizzo by three former dancers, marking a significant legal victory for the artist after two years of intense public scrutiny. The ruling removes one of the most widely circulated claims from the 2023 lawsuit, a claim that shaped headlines, commentary, and public perception long before it reached a courtroom. Other allegations remain active, but this decision narrows the case and forces a reckoning with how the story was framed from the start.

The Claim That Shaped the Public Narrative

The fat-shaming allegation sat at the center of early coverage. Many reports treated it as fact rather than claim, despite Lizzo’s public identity as an artist whose career centers on body acceptance and autonomy. The court has now ruled that this portion of the lawsuit cannot proceed, finding it barred under First Amendment protections.

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Lizzo addressed the dismissal directly in a recent video. She stated that the dancers were not dismissed for gaining weight but for secretly recording a private meeting and sharing the footage with individuals no longer employed on the tour. Her legal team has maintained that the allegation lacked evidence from the outset and submitted sworn declarations from multiple witnesses disputing it. The ruling affirms that the court found no legal basis to carry the claim forward.

When Media Coverage Runs Ahead of the Courts

The speed with which the fat-shaming claim spread in 2023 mattered. Coverage exploded before the lawsuit completed basic procedural steps, and the allegation became a defining feature of the narrative around Lizzo almost overnight. By the time legal review began, reputational damage had already set in.

1/4Lizzo's brand is all about embracing body positivity, sexuality, and being sexy at any size. The lawsuit, alleging sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and more, clashes with her brand's core principles. #LizzoLawsuit pic.twitter.com/VCLJbEYBlb

— Feminegra (@feminegra) August 5, 2023

This ruling highlights a familiar imbalance. Allegations often receive blanket exposure, while dismissals arrive with far less visibility. In this case, the claim most responsible for shaping public outrage has now been removed, yet the correction carries none of the original volume. The legal process moved deliberately. The media cycle did not.

Brand, Bias, and the Cost of Assumptions

The traction of the fat-shaming claim did not exist in a vacuum. Lizzo’s visibility as a Black woman who speaks openly about body politics placed her under a harsher lens. Critics treated perceived contradictions between her advocacy and the allegation as proof rather than a question for the court.

That dynamic matters. It shows how cultural bias can influence which claims feel believable and which defenses are dismissed outright. Supporting Lizzo in this moment does not dismiss accountability. It insists on accuracy. The court removed a claim that failed under scrutiny, and that outcome deserves the same attention as the accusation itself.

Final Thoughts

The dismissal of the fat-shaming claims exposes more than a legal flaw. It reveals how quickly suspicion attached itself to Lizzo, and how easily many accepted the worst interpretation of her character without evidence. The allegation fit a story some were already prepared to believe. A successful Black woman, visibly fat, openly queer, and unapologetic in her confidence, did not receive the benefit of doubt that others often do.

Public reaction in the aftermath has been blunt. Many now say the claim never made sense and that resentment toward Lizzo’s success fueled the rush to judgment. Others point to a familiar pattern online, where credibility hinges on whether a woman meets narrow standards of acceptability. When she does not, accusation becomes entertainment and consequence becomes collateral.

This ruling cannot undo the professional damage or the cultural pile-on that followed the initial headlines. It does, however, confirm that the most explosive claim failed under scrutiny. That matters. Justice is not only about what survives in court, but about whether people are willing to revisit what they so readily believed. Lizzo deserves that reckoning as the rest of the case proceeds.