Lizzo is being hit with another plagiarism claim over her smash single, "Truth Hurts."
Songwriter and producer, Justin Raisen, who has worked with the likes of Sky Ferreira and Angel Olsen, posted a video to his Instagram in which he compared "Truth Hurts" to a single called "Healthy" that he allegedly wrote with Lizzo and others in 2017. Raisen's complaint is centered around "Truth Hurts'" now-famous opening line—"I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100 percent that bitch"—as well as the fact the two tracks share the same melody. The clip shows Lizzo and Raisen in the studio creating "Healthy" and the singer at Raisen's family events.
"We were never contacted about being credited for the use of the parts of 'Healthy' (melody, lyrics, and chords) that appear in 'Truth Hurts'," Raisen caption reads before explaining that the dispute has been ongoing since 2017.
Raisen says that he and the other collaborators aren't asking for a massive amount of writing credits. Yet, they're being "shutdown" despite seeking just five percent of the song's rights. "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."
This is the second time Lizzo has been accused of stealing portions of "Truth Hurts." In February 2018, British singer, Mina Lioness, says she first tweeted the line "I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100 percent that bitch" a year prior to her complaint. Lizzo responded by stating that she never saw Mina's original tweet, rather she was inspired to write the line after seeing an Instagram meme.
But Raisen believes that Mina's wit should be credited. If Raisen and his team are awarded the damages they are seeking, they would share the proceeds with Mina and her family. This comes after Lizzo reportedly made moves to trademark the phrase.
Billboard obtained a written statement by Lizzo's lawyer, Cynthia Arato of Shapiro Arato Bach, and pointed out the brothers did not contribute any of the material in the song and confirmed their non-involvement in writing.
"The Raisens are not writers of 'Truth Hurts,'" said Arato. "They 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. Although it has become all too commonplace for successful artists to be subjected to these type of opportunistic claims, it is nevertheless disappointing that after all of her hard work, Lizzo has to respond to this specious claim."
