Lizzo received an award for her work promoting inclusivity and social justice Thursday night in Los Angeles, just hours after she was served with a lawsuit by another former employee.
The “About Damn Time” singer became the latest artist to be presented with the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award.
The BMAC said the 35-year-old performer was recognized for her philanthropic work and commitment to social justice.
An emotional Lizzo was surrounded by a group of her background dancers as she accepted the award at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
“I needed this right now. God’s timing is on time,” the singer said, adding that she plans to continue to “amplify the voices of marginalized people because I have a microphone and I know how to use it.”
Epic Records CEO Sylvia Rhone, Keke Palmer, Jermaine Dupri, and Jesse Collins were also honored at the Sept. 21 event.
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The awards were handed out on the same day Lizzo was sued by another former employee alleging bullying, harassment and racial discrimination.
An attorney for Asha Daniels, a professional clothing designer who previously worked for Lizzo and Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc., filed the lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Lizzo and members of her team.
Daniels alleges she was subjected to racial and sexual harassment while she worked with the singer, and said she faced disability discrimination, assault and illegal retaliatory termination, according to the complaint obtained by NBC News.
“I felt like I was living in a madhouse,” Daniels, 35, told NBC.
“I was listening to this Black woman on this huge stage have this message of self-love and caring for others and being empathetic and being strong and standing up for others,” she said. “And I was witnessing myself, the dancers and the background vocalists and my local team in every city be harassed and bullied regularly.”
The suit also accuses wardrobe manager Amanda Nomura — Daniels’ immediate supervisor — of calling the performers “fat,” “useless” and “dumb,” and forcing them to change in front of a mostly white, male stage crew who would “lewdly gawk” at the women.
The suit additionally names tour manager Carlina Gugliotta as a defendant. Daniels was fired after she complained about Nomura, according to the complaint.
In a statement Thursday, a spokesman for Lizzo accused Daniels’ lawyer, Ron Zambrano, of trying to “sully” the singer’s Black Music Action Coalition honor.
The complaint follows a previous lawsuit filed in August by three of Lizzo’s former dancers, who accused the Grammy-winning artist of sexual harassment and fostering toxic working conditions in which they were subjected to taunts, racism and weight-shaming.
In a statement in August, Lizzo called the claims in that lawsuit “outrageous.”
