Sophia Nahli Allison claims she left directing Lizzo documentary due to “such disrespect”

2 August, 2023

Lizzo performs at Qudos Bank Arena on July 23, 2023 and Sophia Nahli Allison attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards in 2021

Academy Award nominee documentarian and photographer Sophia Nahli Allison has come forward saying she left a project with Lizzo due to “such disrespect”.

The comments come following allegations raised against the singer.

News was shared yesterday (August 1) that the ‘Good As Hell’ singer was facing accusations of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment – raised by three of her former backup dancers.

The rapper, singer, songwriter and actress is accused of pressuring a co-worker to touch a naked performer in an Amsterdam club and subjecting dancers to “excruciating” auditions. It also cites claims of religious and racial harassment, false imprisonment, interference with prospective economic advantage and more.

Now, since the accusations came to light, documentarian and photographer Sophia Nahli Allison has come forward and shared her experience of working alongside the singer – revealing that she left a job directing a Lizzo documentary due to poor treatment.

Sharing a new post on Twitter (X), she posted an image of her working at a gig, with paragraphs of text written on the top. These explained how she quit working with Lizzo after just two weeks in 2019 after she was “treated with such disrespect by her”.

“I witnessed how arrogant, self-centered, and unkind she is. I was not protected and was thrown into a shitty situation with little support,” she wrote. “My spirit said to run as fast as you fucking can and I’m so grateful I trusted my gut.”

She continued: “I felt gaslit and was deeply hurt, but I’ve healed. Reading these reports made me realize how dangerous of a situation it was. This kind of abuse of power happens far too often.”

In the update, she also captioned the post, explaining that she wanted to share her experience because “validating other Black women’s experiences is deeply important to me”.

Sophia Nahli Allison attends the Black female photography show "Witness" at WACO Theater Center on March 31, 2023
Sophia Nahli Allison attends the Black female photography show “Witness” at WACO Theater Center on March 31, 2023. CREDIT: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Allison was the 2017 Student Video Photographer of the Year, and rose to fame following her critically acclaimed short film A Love Song For Latasha. Debuted at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, the project went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary (Short Subject) and an IDA nomination for Best Short.

Lizzo has yet to respond to the allegations raised against her. NME has reached out to her representatives for comment.

Although Lizzo has not yet commented on the accusations raised against her, it appears that Beyoncé has drawn light to the allegations at her most recent show in Boston, Massachusetts.

The moment took place during a rendition of ‘Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)’ – which sees her list off a number of iconic and boundary-breaking Black female artists. At last night’s show (August 1), she left Lizzo’s name out of the list for the first time, and instead repeated Erykah Badu’s name four times.

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