US pop star Lizzo appears to have teased new music in a social media video in which she speaks about “real love in real life”. It would mark her first release since 2023 when the musician and her production company were sued by ex-dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, who made a number of claims, including allegations of sexual, religious and racial harassment.
At the time, the Good As Hell singer, 36, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, said the claims were “as unbelievable as they sound” and insisted she would “not let the good work I’ve done in the world be overshadowed by this”. Fans speculated over her return to music after the Grammy Award-winner posted a video of her spray painting the words “bye bitch” on to a large printout of her album cover Special on Valentine’s Day.
Her most recent album, released in 2022, contains hit song About Damn Time. In 2023 she released the song Pink, which featured on the Barbie movie soundtrack, and a remix of the song Special. In the new video, captioned “Love in Real Life 2/28”, Lizzo is seen lying motionless on the bonnet of a car as people walk by.
She says in a voicover: “Everything was so much simpler, and that’s exactly what I need, no views, no likes, real love in real life.”. Earlier in the month, it was reported she had told a Twitch stream about her plans, saying: “I’ve been working on new music for the last two years.”.
A month after the allegations in August 2023, similar claims were made against Lizzo by stylist Asha Daniels, who said she was subject to racial and sexual harassment and a hostile work environment while on tour with Lizzo. A US judge later dismissed the specific allegations against Lizzo.
In December 2024, during her first interview on the matter, she said the sexual harassment allegation “upsets me the most”, but called the claims “silly” and “ridiculous”. She told the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast: “The last year and a half, I needed time to process and grow as a person.
“I was literally living in my dream and then the tour ended, and three dancers just completely blindsided me with a lawsuit.”. Lawyer Ron Zambrano said in a statement to the PA news agency at the time: “Following up on reporting about comments Lizzo made on a podcast appearance regarding being dismissed from a lawsuit, we just wanted to clarify that Lizzo remains a defendant in the harassment lawsuit filed by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez.”.
