Three backup dancers for the rapper Lizzo, famous for being “body-positive” and sex-forward in her lyrics and performances, have accused her of sexual harassment. The rapper denied the claims in a statement today:

These last few days have been gut wrenchingly difficult and overwhelmingly disappointing. My work ethic, morals and respectfulness have been questioned. My character has been criticized. Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous to not be addressed. . . .

I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be these last few days. I am very open with my sexuality and expressing myself but I cannot accept or allow people to use that openness to make me out to be something I am not. There is nothing I take more seriously than the respect we deserve as women in the world. I know what it feels like to be body shamed on a daily basis and would absolutely never criticize or terminate an employee because of their weight.

Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, likes to rap about things — vicious booties, backsides that don’t stop, having sex with “him and you, yeah,” dancing like a “CE-ho,” and so on — that don’t exactly elicit respect for women. The singer may even be too supportive of sex, her dancers say. The Associated Press reported that the dancers’ charges against the singer include sexual, religious, and racial harassment, assault, false imprisonment, and disability discrimination:

The court filing claims that after performing a concert in Amsterdam, Lizzo and her crew attended a sexually themed show at a club in the city’s notorious Red Light District where “Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers.” During the show, Lizzo led a chant pressuring Davis to touch the breasts of one of the nude women performing at the club, the filing states.

“Finally, the chorus became overwhelming, and a mortified [backup dancer] acquiesced in an attempt to bring an end to the chants,” the complaint states. “Plaintiffs were aghast with how little regard Lizzo showed for the bodily autonomy of her employees and those around her, especially in the presence of many people whom she employed.”

As for the regard that Lizzo shows for bodies, they’re her favorite toys. She trivializes the female body by suggesting that sexuality alone gives women power. In their claim, the dancers said they were “exposed to an overtly sexual atmosphere that permeated their workplace” — which is also how I feel when her songs are played in public. In her hit “Like a Girl,” Lizzo says she works her femininity by “[making] these boys get on their knees.” She is given to explicit vulgarities when speaking to the press.

Thousands of women in entertainment — 94 percent in the film industry — report sexual harassment, such as unwelcome sexual comments or advances. Although the MeToo movement was focused mostly on the behavior of men, women can also engage in unacceptable power dynamics. Lizzo is defending herself against the allegations. Her accusers shouldn’t be ignored just because their former employer is a female celebrity who claims to respect women.