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Haters gon’ hate? 3LW songwriters accuse Taylor Swift of ripping off lyrics from Playas Gon’ Play

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L-R: Kiely Williams, Naturi Naughton, Adrienne Bailon of 3LW; Theo Wargo/WireImageRemember 3LW‘s smash hit single, “Playas Gon’ Play?”  

Well, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the track’s songwriters, Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, are suing Taylor Swift, claiming her use of the phrases “the players gonna play….and the haters gonna hate” in her 2014 hit “Shake It Off” improperly copies their composition.

Hall and Butler claim that they popularized the phrase “Playas, they gonna play/And haters, they gonna hate” in “Playas Gon’ Play” in their song, according to the complaint, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter. 

Their complaint also asserts that “The combination of playas/players playing along with hatas/haters hating may seem like common parlance today, however, in 2001 it was completely original and unique.”

2001 is the year “Playas Gon’ Play” was released. 

In a statement to ABC Radio, Taylor’s rep dismisses the claim as “ridiculous,” calling it “nothing more than a money grab.” The statement goes on to say, “The law is simple and clear. They do not have a case.”

The songwriters’ allegation comes not long after viewers accused Taylor of copying a scene from Beyoncé‘s “Formation” video for in her video for “Look What You Made Me Do.”  

The co-director of that video, Joseph Kahn, later suggested that Beyonce had copied Taylor. 

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