Back on September 16, Lizzo tweeted, “Hey @Postmates this girl Tiffany W. stole my food she lucky I don’t fight no more,” along with a photo of the alleged delivery person. She then deleted the tweet. The next day, Lizzo apologized, tweeting, “I apologize for putting that girl on blast. I understand I have a large following and that there were so many variables that could’ve put her in danger. Imma really be more responsible with my use of social media and check my petty and my pride at the door.”
Shortly after Lizzo’s initial tweet and apology, TMZ reported that Tiffany W. was “afraid to leave her home and even go to work, for fear someone might harm her or even worse.”
Now, Tiffany Wells is suing Lizzo for libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false light invasion of privacy, TMZ reports and Pitchfork can confirm. In the lawsuit, filed today (November 15) in a California federal court and viewed by Pitchfork, Wells’ lawyers write that Wells picked up food for Lizzo from Luke’s Lobster in Boston and tried to bring it to the artist at the Revere Hotel, but did not have Lizzo’s room number. Wells claims she tried to call Lizzo (who allegedly used the pseudonym “Bonnie V.” on Postmates), but could not reach her and eventually abandoned the order.
The lawsuit calls Lizzo’s September 16 tweets “false statements that are defamatory and are libelous.” (According to the suit, “Postmates denied any wrongdoing by [Tiffany Wells].”) In addition, Wells’ lawyers write, “Lizzo’s conduct was extreme and outrageous in that she used her celebrity to publicly defame, disparage, and threaten a private individual (i.e. [Tiffany Wells]), to roughly one million Twitter followers.” Find the lawsuit below.
Pitchfork has reached out to Lizzo’s representatives and her lawyer Cynthia S. Arato, as well as Tiffany Wells’ attorneys, for comment and more information.