Lizzo Files Lawsuit Against “Truth Hurts” Plagiarism Accusers
Lizzo has filed a lawsuit against Justin Raisen, Jeremiah Raisen, and Justin “Yves” Rothman. Through the suit, filed today (October 23) in a California federal court and viewed by Pitchfork, Lizzo is seeking “a judicial declaration” that the Raisens and Rothman “did not co-author ‘Truth Hurts,’ and have no right to co-own that work or to share in its profits.”
The Raisens and Rothman have lately claimed that Lizzo used the “melody, lyrics, and chords” of a song they worked on together called “Healthy” for her single “Truth Hurts.” Lizzo, earlier today, issued a statement on the matter, writing, “The men who claim a piece of ‘Truth Hurts’ did not help me write any part of the song. They had nothing to do with the line or how I chose to sing it.”
In the lawsuit, Lizzo’s lawyer Cynthia S. Arato writes:
[T]he Raisens, acting through their sophisticated music publisher and an experienced music industry lawyer, expressly withdrew any claim to “Truth Hurts,” in writing, in April of this year, and subsequently assured Lizzo, again in writing, that they were making no claims to the work. Despite their clear, unequivocal, and repeated renunciations, this September the Raisens purported to “reinstate” their wholly unfounded claims—after they saw “Truth Hurts” become a hit and in a bad faith effort to capitalize on Lizzo’s success. 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.
In addition, Arato claims that “Rothman is acting with similar bad faith,” and that he “asserted his claim only after learning of the Raisens’ attempt to coerce a settlement from the rightful owners of ‘Truth Hurts’ and under the mistaken belief that Lizzo might accede to the Raisens’ demands and pay them, and Rothman, something to go away.”
With the lawsuit, Lizzo is asking a judge to rule that the Raisens, their Heavy Duty Music Publishing, and Justin “Yves” Rothman have no right to ownership or profit from “Truth Hurts.” In addition, she is seeking a declaration “that ‘Truth Hurts’ does not infringe any copyright interest purportedly held by defendant Rothman in any unreleased demo song.”
Update (10/23 5:25 p.m.): Justin and Jeremiah Raisen have denied Lizzo’s assertion that they withdrew their claims to “Truth Hurts.” Speaking to Pitchfork, the brothers stated that neither of them ever signed any paperwork to withdraw their claims to the song. Justin Raisen also provided Pitchfork with an email dated September 27, 2017, in which the producer informs his team that he believes he and Jeremiah are entitled to songwriting credit on “Truth Hurts” given the song’s similarities to “Healthy.”
Raisen wrote in his initial plagiarism claim: “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.”
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
