Lizzo’s lawyer has responded to the claims that the singer plagiarized parts of her hit song “Truth Hurts” in a statement sent to Billboard after the accusations surfaced, saying that the claimants didn’t contribute “any of the material” for the track — which she says they previously confirmed in writing.
Cynthia Arato, an attorney for Lizzo from Shapiro Arato Bach law firm, wrote that, “The Raisens are not writers of ‘Truth Hurts.’ 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. Although it has become all too commonplace for successful artists to be subjected to these type of opportunistic claims, it is nevertheless disappointing that after all of her hard work, Lizzo has to respond to this specious claim.”
Lizzo was accused of using a line from a song she co-wrote with songwriter Justin Raisen in “Truth Hurts,” borrowing the melody and chords from “Healthy” without credit or compensation. Raisen and his brother Jeremiah allege that they, Lizzo, and fellow songwriters Jesse St. John and Yves Rothman previously used the now iconic, meme-bait phrase “”I just did a DNA test… turns out I’m 100% that bitch” in “Healthy” in 2017. Justin Raisen posted an Instagram video of the group writing “Healthy” yesterday, asking for 5% of the profits from “Truth Hurts” and saying that he didn’t want to “throw any negativity toward Lizzo’s momentum and movement as a cultural figure.”
Raisen also believes that the person who posted the original tweet that inspired the line, London-based singer Mina Lioness, also deserves compensation, which he would provide from his 5% share.
Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. .
