Dancers Sue Cher

The dancers are alleging Cher had remarked that the tour had “too much color” and told the choreographer, an Afro-American named Kevin Wilson, not to hire any more dark-skinned people, reports Associated Press.  Wilson, who also danced on stage, was fired in July along with two other dancers. 

Wilson and dancer Suzanne Easter, who is also Afro-American, claim that race was a motivating factor in their terminations.  Joining in the lawsuit is a former colleague, 42-year-old Jacquelyn Dowsett Ballinger, claiming age discrimination.  The three dancers alleged that they were wrongly fired after complaining to managers that another dancer assaulted an unidentified woman in a hotel room during the tour.

In the lawsuit the three dancers say they were told they were being fired to save costs on the tour.

The dancers are represented by attorney Perry C. Wander, who noted that the dancers were “long-term employees” who had been with Cher for more than 10 years.

On Thursday Cher’s publicist Liz Rosenberg responded to the lawsuit by saying the accusations were “ridiculous” and that they “couldn’t be further from the truth.”