For the second time, Lizzo has been accused of plagiarism over hit single ‘Truth Hurts’.
Producer Justin Raisen has taken to Instagram to share audio of a track called ‘Healthy’ he claims to have written with Lizzo and others, including brother Jeremiah Raisen, back in 2017, which includes the opening line of ‘Truth Hurts’ – “I just took a DNA test / turns out I’m 100% that bitch.”
“On April 11th, 2017, we wrote a song called “Healthy” w/ Lizzo, Jesse St John and Yves Rothman at our studio,” writes Raisen in the post, explaining that they were never contacted about being credited for the melody, lyrics and chords in the song that appear in ‘Truth Hurts’. Jesse St John, for what it’s worth, is credited as a songwriter on ‘Truth Hurts’.
Raisen goes on to explain that after reaching out to ‘Truth Hurts’ producer Ricky Reed along with Lizzo’s team, they have been “shut down” after asking for 5% of the track’s profits.
“Coming forward publicly to family, friends, artists, and colleagues seems to be the only way at this point in relieving some of our emotional distress caused by this. The last thing we want to do is throw any negativity toward Lizzo’s momentum and movement as a cultural figure. If we believe in what she’s preaching, believing in ourselves & our own voices is something we thought she’d understand.”
In their post, Raisen shouts out singer Mina Lioness, who originally tweeted the “I just did a DNA test” quote in full in 2017. Raisen explains that a meme of the line came up during the writing session which “inspired” the lyric and melody.
I did a DNA test and found out I'm 100% that bitch.
— mina (@MinaLioness) February 25, 2017
“If Ricky and Lizzo’s team decide to settle this dispute with us, we would like to share some of the proceeds with Mina for her influence on Healthy.”
Lioness was the first to accuse Lizzo of plagiarising the line back in February 2018, tweeting at the singer saying “Everyone believes those were your words, when in fact they were mine. My creativity, my wit and my comedy.”
Lizzo responded by saying she had been “inspired” by a meme she saw that included the now iconic line.
Lizzo has not responded to Raisen’s claims, and her record label confirmed to The Guardian that neither she nor they would be making comment on the accusation.
Check out Justin Raisen’s video on Instagram below.
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