Oscar Nominee Sophia Nahli Allison Claims She Left Lizzo Doc Because ‘I Was Treated with Such Disrespect by Her’
As Lizzo has been hit with a sexual harassment and hostile workplace lawsuit from her former backup dancers, documentary filmmaker Sophia Nahli Allison has come forward with her own claims of bad behavior from the pop star. Allison, an Oscar nominee for her 2019 documentary short “A Love for Latasha,” alleged on social media Wednesday that she left the directing position for a Lizzo documentary after “being treated with such disrespect” by the Grammy winner.
Allison shared her allegations via an Instagram story she posted on Wednesday and on Twitter. In the story, Allison claimed that she shadowed Lizzo for two weeks in order to direct a documentary about her. However, Allison said she left the project because of “arrogant, self-centered, and unkind” behavior from Lizzo, claiming she was “thrown into a shitty situation with little support.”
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“I usually do not comment on anything pop culture related,” Allison wrote in her post. “But, in 2019, I traveled a bit with Lizzo to be the director of her documentary. I walked away after about two weeks. I was treated with such disrespect by her. I witnessed how arrogant, unkind, and cruel she is. I was not protected and thrown into a shitty situation with little support. My spirit said to run as fast as you fucking can and I’m grateful I trusted my gut. I felt gaslit and deeply hurt, but I’ve healed.”
“Reading these reports make me realize how dangerous of a situation it was,” Allison’s post continues. “This kind of abuse of power happens far too often. Much love and support to the dancers.”
Sharing this because validating other Black women's experiences is deeply important to me. pic.twitter.com/gd2xEK6szq
— Sophia Nahli Allison (@SophiaNAllison) August 1, 2023
A documentary about the pop star, “Love, Lizzo,” was released on HBO Max in November 2022. Rather than Allison, the film was directed by documentarian Doug Pray, whose other projects include 2009 film “Art & Copy” and 2008 film “Surfwise.”
In a follow-up post on Thursday, Allison said that she received private messages from individuals who went through similar experiences with Lizzo and claimed that the pop star “creates an extremely toxic and hostile working environment and undermines the work, labor and authority of other black and brown womxn in the process.”
“Notice how the film ended up being directed by a cis white man,” Allison wrote, before further calling Lizzo “a narcissistic bully” who “has built her brand off lies.”
“I was excited to support and protect a Black woman through the documentary process but quickly learned her image and ‘message’ was a curated facade,” she continued.
to be clear… pic.twitter.com/JU2ZuDoZ9b
— Sophia Nahli Allison (@SophiaNAllison) August 2, 2023
On Wednesday, Lizzo and her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring were sued by three former backup dancers for the star. The three plaintiffs — Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams, and Noelle Rodriguez — alleged a pattern of sexual, religious, and racial harassment from Lizzo and members of her production company. Among the allegations were claims that Lizzo pressured her dancers to touch and perform sexual acts with performers at nude shows in Amsterdam’s red light district, as well as body-shaming dancers for weight gain. The suit also accused Lizzo’s dance captain Shirlene Quigley of attempting to push her Christian beliefs on non-religious members of the dance team.
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