BMG Sues Toy Company for Remaking Black Eyed Peas' 'My Humps' as 'My Poops' for a Commercial

Jack Irvin
·2 min read
The group Black Eyed Peas pose for a portrait during the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards at Ocean Terminal on November 6, 2003 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The group Black Eyed Peas pose for a portrait during the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards at Ocean Terminal on November 6, 2003 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

John Rogers/Getty Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas may have called for "no drama" on 2005's Grammy-winning "My Humps" — but the music company BMG, which owns the song's copyright, is suing a toy company for parodying the hit as "My Poops" in a commercial.

Last week, BMG Rights Management filed a lawsuit against MGA Entertainment over a commercial for Poopsie Slime Surprise toys (a.k.a. unicorn figurines that poop glittery slime) that seemingly parodies the lyrics and melody of "My Humps."

Documents obtained by PEOPLE find BMG claiming the company exhibited "willful copyright infringement" and "exploited, without authorization" with the commercial, released in 2020.

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It's easy to hear many similarities between "My Humps" and "My Poops." For example, the original song features the lyrics, "Whatcha gon' do with all that junk? / All that junk inside your trunk? / I'ma get, get, get, get you drunk / Get you love drunk off my humps."

Using the same melody, the commercial features the lyrics, "Whatcha gon' do with all that poop? / All that poop, woo, woo / I'ma poop, poop, poop, poop, oh yeah."

The lawsuit notes that the toy manufacturer "clearly had access" to "My Humps," as the song earned a 2006 MTV Video Music Award for best hip-hop video and has racked up more than 700 million views on YouTube.

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BMG is asking for MGA Entertainment to "destroy all copies" of "My Poops" as well as $10 million in damages, claiming the commercial "devalued future licenses" for the Black Eyed Peas' hit song.

The fact that parody is protected under the First Amendment complicates the matter, however, and Rolling Stone claims "the parody-ness of the offending song will likely be the most contentious argument if and when the lawsuit goes to trial."

Lawyers for BMG did not provide comment to PEOPLE.

This isn't the first time commercial parodies have led to litigation from musicians and/or record companies. Notably, the Beastie Boys once sued toy brand GoldieBlox for parodying the band's 1987 hit "Girls" in an advertisement before settling the lawsuit in 2014.