Lizzo scores big in court as judge tosses out lawsuit that accused the singer of plagiarizing

Lizzo is likely feeling a sense a relief now that a California judge has tossed out a lawsuit which accused her of stealing her most famous lyric from the hit Truth Hurts.

Judge Dolly M. Gee granted the 32-year-old star’s motion to dismiss a countersuit filed by three songwriters who claimed she had plagiarized the well known line from them, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Lizzo had first sued the same trio, brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen and Justin ‘Yves’ Rothman, seeking a judge to rule that they have no claim to the song. 

In the order, the judge agreed with Lizzo’s assertion that a ‘joint author of one copyrightable work does not automatically gain ownership of a derivative work.’

In their countersuit, the three men repeated their longheld claims that Truth Hurts is strikingly similar to their song Healthy which they had composed with Lizzo in April 2017, just months before she penned Truth Hurts. 

The judge explained in her order that just because the group may have written Healthy together, doesn’t mean the three other songwriters can stake a claim to the ‘derivative’ work, Truth Hurts. 

‘Without deciding who, in fact, authored the songs at issue, and without reviewing the songs’ recordings or lyrics, the Court can determine that Counterclaimants allege that the parties collaborated on, and finalized, one song — Healthy — before Lizzo allegedly copied portions of that song to make Truth Hurts,’ she penned in her order.

‘As a matter of law, therefore, even if Counterclaimants are co-authors of Healthy, they have not alleged any ownership interest in Truth Hurts, which they claim is a derivative work of Healthy.’ 

The judge went on to say that the Raisens and Rothman could amend their original claim but warned that their ‘inconsistent allegations may be used to undermine a litigant’s credibility.’  

In their original countersuit, the songwriters sought to prove that Truth Hurts was not written solely by Lizzo and was created at the home studio of Justin Raisen. 

The suit included details from a musicologist who found ‘strikingly similar lyric and musical elements’ in Healthy and Truth Hurts.

Lizzo had initially filed a complaint against the Raisens alleging that they had previously signed a waiver relinquishing claims to the song but came back after Truth Hurts topped the charts and demanded five percent each for helping create the quotable line. 

She pleaded her case in the court of public opinion last year on social media when she wrote a lengthy defense of herself and her lyric.

‘Truth Hurts… but the truth shall set you free,’ Lizzo captioned her Instagram. ‘Hey y’all…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**ch.’ 

‘I sang that line in the demo, and I later used the line in Truth Hurts. The men who now claim a piece of Truth Hurts did not help me write any part of the song,’ Lizzo said in her social post, refuting those claims. ‘They had nothing to do with the line or how I chose to sing it.’ 

Ironically, the Raisens also admitted they hadn’t even come up with the lyric they were staking their claim on either and had actually adapted it from a line on Twitter, originally penned by British singer Mina Lioness.

Mina was the first to accuse the rapper and flutist of pilfering the lyric in February 2018 who claimed she’d originally tweeted it a year before. 

Ultimately Lizzo did concede that Mina was the originator of the phrase and went on to credit her in the post.

‘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. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and my song. XOXO,’ Lizzo concluded.