Lizzo’s lawyer rejects Truth Hurts plagiarism claims as ‘campaign of harassment’
Singer is filing lawsuit against two male producers but will add credit for London-based artist Mina Lioness
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Your support makes all the difference.Lizzo has filed a lawsuit against two producers who accused her of plagiarism in her hit song “Truth Hurts”, with her lawyer describing the claims as a “campaign of harassment”.
The singer is in a public battle with brothers Justin and Jeremy Raisen over recognition and royalties on the track, which is currently number one on the US music charts.
Lizzo wrote on Twitter: “The men who now claim a piece of 'Truth Hurts' did not help me write any part of the song. They had nothing to do with the line or how I chose to sing it. There was no one in the room when I wrote 'Truth Hurts', except me, Ricky Reed, and my tears. That song is my life, and its words are my truth.”
In a statement to The Independent, Lizzo’s lawyer Cynthia Arato said: “Today we filed a lawsuit on Lizzo’s behalf to establish, in a court of law, that the Raisens are not writers of Truth Hurts and have no right to profit from the song’s success.
“The Raisens did not collaborate with Lizzo or anyone else to create the song, and they did not help write any of the material that they now seek to profit from, which is why they expressly renounced any claim to the work, in writing, months ago, as the lawsuit makes abundantly clear.
“Although it is all too commonplace for successful artists to be subjected to these type of opportunistic claims, it is nevertheless disappointing that Lizzo had to take this step to put an end to the Raisens’ false claims and their campaign of harassment.”
Songwriter and producer Justin Raisen posted a video on Instagram last week comparing “Truth Hurts”, which has now spent seven weeks at the top of the US charts, to a song called “Healthy” that he and others co-wrote with Lizzo in 2017.
The two tracks, he claimed, have the same melody and opening line: “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100 per cent that bitch.”
While Lizzo rejects the Raisen brothers’ claims, she will add a songwriting credit to “Truth Hurts” for the London-based singer Mina Lioness.
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“I saw a meme that resonated with me, a meme that made me feel like 100 per cent that bitch,” wrote Lizzo on Twitter. “I sang that line in the demo, and I later used the line in 'Truth Hurts'.”
Lioness addressed the news on Twitter, saying: “I just took a DNA Test, turns out I’m a credited writer for the number one song on Billboard.”
Lizzo was also accused of plagiarising CeCe Peniston’s song “Finally” earlier this week.
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