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Atlantic RecordsAfter being accused of stealing music and lyrics for her record setting hit, “Truth Hurts,” Lizzo is firing back with a lawsuit.
Brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen and another collaborator, Justin “Yves” Rothman, claim that Lizzo plagiarized a song they all wrote together titled “Healthy” for “Truth Hurts” which has been number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks.
“The men who now claim a piece of ‘Truth Hurts’ did not help me write any part of the song,” Lizzo writes in an Instagram post. “They had nothing to do with the line or how I chose to sing it.”
In her lawsuit, the singer/rapper from Detroit says that the brothers “expressly withdrew any claim to ‘Truth Hurts,’ in writing,” according to Variety.
Lizzo’s suit also states that “The Raisens, moreover, embarked on an escalating campaign of harassment against Lizzo and others involved in ‘Truth Hurts,’ threatening to ‘go public’ unless they receive an unwarranted share of this work.”
The lawsuit also states that the Raisen’s music publisher, Kobalt Music Publishing, wrote in an email to Lizzo’s representatives, “I have been advised by our clients to withdraw our claims to this work.”
Lizzo’s attorney, Cynthia Arato, writes in a statement published by Variety, “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.”
This week, “Truth Hurts” tied the record for the most weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a rap song by a female artist, equaling the mark of seven weeks at the top of the chart in 2014 by Iggy Azaela‘s “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX.
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