Lizzo Defends 'Truth Hurts' After 2 Brothers Claim They Helped Write Key Lyric

Scott Baumgartner‍
Updated
'That song is my life, and its words are my truth.'

Lizzo is pushing back against claims that two songwriters weren't properly credited on her hit single, "Truth Hurts."

On Wednesday, the 31-year-old rapper shared a series of notes on Twitter rebuffing recent allegations that the songwriting brothers, Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, had a part in the creation of the key lyric, "I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100% that b***h."

"Hey ya'll… as I've shared before, in 2017, while working on a demo, I saw a meme that resonated with me, a meme that made me feel like 100% that b***t. I sang that line in the demo, and I later used the line in Truth Hurts," Lizzo wrote.

"The men who now claim a piece of Truth Hurts did not help me write any part of that song," she continued. "They had nothing to do with the line or how I chose to sing it. There was no one in the room when I wrote Truth Hurts, except me, [producer] Ricky Reed, and my tears. That song is my life, and its words are my truth."

On Oct. 14, Justin Raisen posted a clip claiming he and his brother were integral in writing the memorable "DNA test" lyric on a track called "Healthy" in April 2017, but were never contacted regarding proper credit when the line ended up on "Truth Hurts."

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

They also reference singer Mina Lioness, who previously claimed to be the originator of the line in dispute. Although she and Lizzo had exchanged tweets in February 2018, where Lizzo claimed she hadn't seen Lioness' tweet, Lizzo seemed to reference her on Wednesday in her post, writing, "I later learned that a tweet inspired the meme. The creator of the tweet is the person I am sharing my success with . . . not these men. Period."

Soon after Lizzo shared her post, Lioness tweeted, "I want to publicly thank @Lizzo and her entire management team for embracing me and reaching out."

Mudding the water even more, The New York Times reports that the Raisen brothers previously revoked their claim to a credit on the track, according to Kobalt, their publisher.

Controversy aside, Lizzo's star continues to rise. Earlier this month, ET chatted with Justin Timberlake, who offered some details on his upcoming collaboration with the rapper, hinting that fans are in for something big.

"I think she thought I was lying, but we got in and we got a couple of ideas," he said, while discussing their early conversations. "I'm not going to tell you too much about what we did together in the studio. If she wants to tell you, she can, but it's flames. It is so good. I am so excited about it."

See more on Lizzo below.

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