Lizzo is clearing the air on the “Truth Hurts” lyrics and wants a judge to settle the dispute.
The hit single “Truth Hurts” just earned Lizzo bragging rights for tying Iggy Azalea for the longest-running No. 1 song by a female rapper. There is no doubt that it’s one of the biggest singles of 2019 and has become an anthem for women of all ages and cultures since Lizzo’s stardom blew up earlier this year. But that stardom comes with conflict, and two men have accused Lizzo of stealing their lyrics to make her famous jam without giving them any credit. Now Lizzo wants a judge to decide the fate of the copyrights to the song.
The two men, songwriters Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, went public with their accusations only a few weeks ago saying that they worked on a demo with Lizzo back in 2017 that incorporated the now-famous catchphrase “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that b*tch.” The brothers demanded payments for their contributions after Lizzo turned the original song “Healthy” into what we now know as “Truth Hurts.” The two even went as far as to post a mashup video of the two versions of the song to their social media, but Lizzo claims she found that specific line in a Twitter meme, and she plans to share profits with the person who tweeted it.
“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*tch,” she said in social media post, Wednesday. “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. They had nothing to do with the line or how I chose to sing it.” She went on to say there was no one else in the room when she wrote the song besides herself and Ricky Reed, who is credited as a producer. “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.”
— #STREAMTRUTHHURTS (@lizzo) October 23, 2019
According to TMZ, Lizzo asked a judge to dismiss the Raisen brother claims and declare that they have no copyright on the smash record. She also claimed that the writers and their team have already put into writing twice before that they have no claims to the song, but only now want a cut because the song blew up. She is not officially suing the men, but wants the judge to finalize who really owns the song.
This story will almost certainly continue to develop until we all find out the “Truth.”
