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Lizzo Speaks On ‘Truth Hurts’ Plagiarism Claims For The First Time

“The creator of the tweet is the person I am sharing my success with....not these men. Period.”

Lizzo is now speaking out about the plagiarism claims surrounding her chart-topping single, “Truth Hurts,” for the first time. The song’s lyrics have come under fire over its signature line, “I did a DNA test and found out I’m 100% that b**tch,” after two songwriters accused the pop star of ripping off their lyrics.

  • This past February, British singer-songwriter Mina Lioness called Lizzo out for co-opting her lyrics from a viral tweet without properly crediting her. At the time, Lizzo claimed she had never seen the said tweet.

     

  • Most recently, songwriter Justin Raisen claimed the 31-year-old stole the lyrics, melody, and chords after a 2017 writing session with him and his brother, Jeremiah. Last week, Raisen said his team had tried to work things out with Lizzo “quietly” for the past two years for a percentage of the song’s royalties, but that they “were shut down every time.”

     

  • Despite the recent controversy surrounding the now-infamous line, Lizzo has been openly honest in previous interviews about the fact that the inspiration behind the lyrics came from a meme she saw online. Although Lizzo’s attorney denied the brother’s claims via a statement provided to Billboard, she hadn’t directly addressed the new allegations until Wednesday (Oct. 23). Taking to Twitter, the artist attempted to clear up any lingering misunderstandings and simultaneously shut down Raisen’s claims while crediting Lioness’ original tweet.

     

  • “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,’” she said.

    “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. 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.”

  • She continued: “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.”

    Shortly after, Mina thanked Lizzo’s team for reaching out to her and tweeted out, “I just took a DNA Test, turns out I’m a credited writer for the number one song on Billboard.”

    Read each of their statements in full below.

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