Lizzo Addresses ‘Truth Hurts’ Plagiarism Claims

Lizzo is sharing her historic success.

While “Truth Hurts” remains No. 1 for a seventh week on the Billboard Hot 100, the rapper is denying claims that she plagiarized the “100% that bitch” verse and has given songwriting credit to Mina Lioness, whose 2017 tweet inspired the line and became a popular meme.

Songwriter and producer brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen claimed that Lizzo was present during a writing session for a song they wrote in 2017 called “Healthy,” which included the line, “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that bitch.” They acknowledged that Lioness’ tweet inspired the lyrics and posted video showing comparisons between “Healthy” and “Truth Hurts.”

“We’ve tried to sort this out quietly for the last two years, only asking for 5% each but were shutdown every time,” wrote Justin.

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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

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Now Lizzo is breaking her silence. In a statement released on Twitter Wednesday, she said that the brothers had nothing to do with “Truth Hurts,” and that producer Ricky Reed was the only other person present when she wrote the song.

“The men who now claim a piece of Truth Hurts did not help me write any part of the song,” she wrote. “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, Ricky Reed, and my tears. That song is my life, and its words are my truth.”

But she did give credit to Lioness, whose 2017 tweet (“I did a DNA test and found out I’m 100% that bitch”) inspired her “Truth Hurts” lyrics. “The creator of the tweet is the person I am sharing my success with…not these men. Period,” she wrote.

Lioness thanked Lizzo and her management team for “embracing” her and reaching out. “I just took a DNA Test, turns out I’m a credited writer for the number one song on Billboard,” she tweeted.

Meanwhile, Lizzo is taking legal action against the three songwriters—Justin, Jeremiah, and Yves Rothman— asking a judge to deny their copyright claims on “Truth Hurts.” She says Justin and his brother, Jeremiah, have acknowledged in writing that they have no claim to “Truth,” and therefore have no right to share in the song’s profits.

Source: Rap-Up.com

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