Lizzo – a seemingly overnight-star – was hit with a lawsuit for copyright infringement by a songwriter and producer she previously worked with, regarding her top hit “Truth Hurts.”

Justin Raisen claims the hit’s famous introductory line, “I just took a DNA test turns out I’m 100% that b*tch…” was taken from a song he collaborated with Lizzo on back in 2017 called “Healthy.”

Raisen, along with his brother Jeremiah, claim they want some credit for the line’s success because it was “the exact line” used in “Healthy.” Raisen has tried to get Lizzo’s attention via multiple posts on his Instagram page, including one comparing  “Truth Hurts” and “Healthy” (shown below).

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The Truth about “Truth Hurts” On April 11th, 2017, we wrote a song called “Healthy” w/ Lizzo, Jesse St John, and Yves Rothman at our studio. “I just took a DNA test turns out I’m 100% that bitch” was taken from “Healthy” and used in “Truth Hurts”. We were never contacted about being credited for the use of the parts of “Healthy” (melody, lyrics, and chords) that appear in “Truth Hurts”. After reaching out to Ricky Reed and Lizzo’s team about fixing it, we put the song in dispute in 2017 when it came out. We’ve tried to sort this out quietly for the last two years, only asking for 5% each but were shutdown every time. Coming forward publicly to family, friends, artists, and colleagues seems to be the only way at this point in relieving some of our emotional distress caused by this. The last thing we want to do is throw any negativity toward Lizzo’s momentum and movement as a cultural figure. If we believe in what she’s preaching, believing in ourselves & our own voices is something we thought she’d understand. Shout out to the singer Mina Lioness ( @minalioness ) for tweeting “I just did a DNA test turns out I’m 100% that bitch”. A meme of that came up in our writing session & inspired the lyric and melody we wrote together. If Ricky and Lizzo’s team decide to settle this dispute with us, we would like to share some of the proceeds with Mina for her influence on Healthy. The clip below shows a video & photos from the day we wrote “Healthy” along with the comparisons between the two works. All the Love, Justin & Jeremiah Raisen #lizzo #truthhurts #healthy #billboard

A post shared by Justin Raisen (@justinraisen) on Oct 14, 2019 at 11:50pm PDT

According to Raisen, the alleged unjust use of the line in Lizzo’s hit caused him and his brother emotional distress, and when he voiced his concerns to Lizzo, they were completely ignored. Raisen further stated on his Instagram that he and his brother tried to “Sort it out quietly… for two years, only asking for 5% each, but were shut down every time.”

Unfortunately for Lizzo, Raisen isn’t the only one who took to Twitter to get her attention. Popular 90’s singer CeCe Penniston also accused Lizzo of infringement (on her Instagram page) regarding her song, “Finally,” by playing a side-by-side video of it with Lizzo’s popular hit, “Juice.”

Lizzo’s lawyer told the New York Times that neither Justin Raisen or his brother Jeremiah participated in the writing of “Truth Hurts.” Lizzo also responded to the allegations herself via Twitter, where she denied any plagiarism.

Sources:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lizzo-truth-hurts-plagiarism-claim-899673/

https://www.insider.com/songs-that-allegedly-stole-from-other-songs-2018-3#lizzo-is-being-accused-of-stealing-one-of-her-iconic-lyrics-from-a-pair-of-songwriting-brothers-1

https://www.instagram.com/p/B32MfDkCYHx/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ulc-xhKyv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

Cover image:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lizzo-truth-hurts-plagiarism-claim-899673/