Lizzo Reaches Settlement Over ‘Truth Hurts’ Songwriting Credits
The legal back-and-forth related to plagiarism claims over Lizzo’s hit song “Truth Hurts” has come to a close. On Friday, a federal judge officially moved to dismiss the lawsuit after attorneys from both sides stated the parties had reached an agreement.
No terms of the deal were shared, and each side will be required to pay their own legal fees. The attorneys asked for “dismissal of the entire action without prejudice.” (Lizzo originally denied the claims in October 2019.)
Justin and Jeremiah Raisen and Justin “Yves” Rothman claimed that “Truth Hurts” came from a writing session the three had alongside Jesse Saint John for a different track called “Healthy.” The three songwriters claimed that “Truth Hurts” — which would go on to garner over 804 million Spotify streams to date — included elements from that written track, including its standout line, “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100 percent that bitch.”
In February 2020, a judge dismissed a countersuit in the case but allowed the possibility for the lawsuit to be refiled pending an amendment. In that filing, the three men claimed credit for the track from Lizzo’s Cuz I Love U album.
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The countersuit accused Lizzo of a “bad faith, unprincipled attempt to deny songwriting and producer credits and royalties” and alleged that “Lizzo would never have collected her Grammy Award [for Best Pop Solo Performance] but for the songwriting and producing contributions of [the Raisens and Rothman].”
Lawyers for the songwriters and Lizzo did not immediately return IndieLand‘s request for comment.
