Lizzo Faces Second “Truth Hurts” Plagiarism Claim
Producer Justin Raisen has accused Lizzo of plagiarism, as The Guardian notes. On Instagram, Raisen claimed that he, Lizzo, Jeremiah Raisen, songwriter Jesse Saint John, and producer/songwriter Yves Rothman wrote the line, “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100 percent that bitch,” for a demo called “Healthy.” The same lyric is featured on Lizzo’s No. 1 single “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,’” Raisen wrote. “After reaching out to [‘Truth Hurts’ co-writer and co-producer] 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 [five percent] 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.”
Raisen continued, “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.” He also shared a clip that compares the purported “Healthy” demo with “Truth Hurts.” Find it below.
In a statement to The New York Times, Cynthia S. Arato, a lawyer for Lizzo, said,“The Raisens are not writers of ‘Truth Hurts.’” She continued, “They did not collaborate with Lizzo or anyone else to create this song, and they did not help write any of the material that they now seek to profit from, which is why they expressly renounced any claim to the work, in writing, months ago.”
In his post, Justin Raisen referenced a February 2017 tweet from singer Mina Lioness that read, “I did a DNA test and found out I’m 100% that bitch.” Raisen acknowledged, “A meme of that came up in our writing session & inspired the lyric and melody we wrote together.”
In Feburary 2018, Mina Lioness tweeted at Lizzo, “We didn’t have the same idea, it was my tweet that was taken from Twitter and put into a song,” and, “Now everyone believes those were your words, when in fact they were mine. My creativity, my wit and my comedy.”
Lizzo responded to Mina Lioness, “‘Truth Hurts’ was written in June FYI— someone made a meme on IG that said ‘I’m 100% that bitch’ and we were inspired, I give that meme credit when I talk about making the song. I’ve never seen ur viral tweet but I’m glad it exists.”
Earlier this year, according to The Blast, Lizzo filed to trademark the phrase “100% That Bitch.”
Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Lizzo and Ricky Reed.
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
