*PIPSELF previously covered the initial lawsuit against Lizzo which provoked this counter-suit. Find our article here.*
Lizzo is now suing songwriters Justin and Jeramiah Raisen, Heavy Duty Music Publishing, Justin “Yves” Rothman and other unnamed defendants following claims that Lizzo did not properly credit them for her hit song, “Truth Hurts.” The songwriters claim that Lizzo used lyrics from their song, “Healthy,” which they all wrote in April 2017 for “Truth Hurts.”
Lizzo stated that the songwriter’s claims lack merit. In response to their claims, Lizzo filed a lawsuit that seeks a “judicial declaration that none of them co-authored ‘Truth Hurts’ or have the right to share in the song’s profits.” The lawsuit states that, “the Raisens did not write any part of the material in question; they did not come up with the idea of including the lyric in the unreleased demo; they did not help Lizzo decide how to sing the lyric in the unreleased demo; and they do not co-own that work.”
Additionally, the lawsuit explains that the Raisen brothers acted in bad faith because the brothers “expressly withdrew any claim to ‘Truth Hurts’ in writing,” but allegedly reinstated their claims once the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The brothers alleged that they had reached out to Lizzo’s team and the song’s co-writer and co-producer and put the song in dispute in 2017 when the song was released. Both brothers have continued to deny withdrawing their claims on their Instagram pages.
Lizzo also responded to the plagiarism allegations via her Instagram page, and, again, stated that the brothers seeking credit were not involved in the creation of the song.
The matter is currently under review in the hands of a federal judge.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/24/entertainment/lizzo-truth-hurts-plagiarism-claims-trnd/index.html
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