When it comes to “Truth Hurts,†Lizzo has acknowledged that she might be more like 90-something percent that bitch. After years of back-and-forth over claims that she plagiarized the song’s now-iconic lyric, “I just took a DNA test, turns out, I’m 100 percent that bitch,†the pop performer took to Instagram on Wednesday to clarify her inspiration for the song. “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 bitch,†she wrote. “I sang that line in the demo, and I later used that line in Truth Hurts.†When the Twitter user who allegedly originated the line in a tweet, @MinaLioness, previously called out Lizzo in February 2018, Lizzo told them, “I’ve never seen ur viral tweet but I’m glad it exists.†@MinaLioness replied, “I am the creator of that meme, and writer credit lands here.†And as of today, the credit has indeed landed: “I just took a DNA Test, turns out I’m a credited writer for the number one song on Billboard,†they tweeted.
Lizzo’s announcement comes on the heels of another plagiarism claim for the song — this time from producer Justin Raisen, who says he wrote a similar song called “Healthy†alongside Lizzo and other pop songwriters, and contacted Lizzo and producer Ricky Reed once “Truth Hurts†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,†Raisen wrote on Instagram last week. At the time, Lizzo’s lawyer Cynthia Arato told the New York Times that Raisen and the other writers “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.†In Lizzo’s statement today, she added, “The creator of the tweet is the person I am sharing my success with … not these men. Period.†(Additionally, Lizzo is being sued by CeCe Peniston over alleged similarities between her 1991 hit, “Finally,†and Lizzo’s 2019 hit, “Juice.â€) See Lizzo’s full statement on “Truth Hurts†below.
Update October 23, 4:30 p.m.: Lizzo’s lawyer Cynthia Arato released a statement announcing a lawsuit against Justin and Jeremiah Raisen over their “Truth Hurts†songwriting claims. “Today we filed a lawsuit on Lizzo’s behalf to establish, in a court of law, that the Raisens are not writers of Truth Hurts and have no right to profit from the song’s success,†she said. “Although it is all too commonplace for successful artists to be subjected to these type of opportunistic claims, it is nevertheless disappointing that Lizzo had to take this step to put an end to the Raisens’ false claims and their campaign of harassment.â€
A spokesperson for Warner Chappell Music also released a statement on CeCe Peniston’s suit over “Juice,†saying, “There’s no substantial similarity between ‘Juice’ and ‘Finally’, and there’s no valid claim there.â€