Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ Ignites Lawsuit Again: Did The Pop Star Really Copy The Lyrics Of Her Hit Song?
Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” has caused yet another lawsuit against the pop star as two songwriters claim that she ripped off part of the track’s chorus from a song they wrote in 2001.
Accomplished writers Sean Hall and Nathan Butler are taking legal action against the 27-year-old pop star for allegedly copying the lyrics of their song “Playas Gon’ Play,” TMZ reported on Monday.
According to the outlet, the music from Hall and Butler was recorded by the girl group 3LW and even became #81 on Billboard Hit 100 in 2001. Hall and Butler’s lawsuit against Swift claims that about 20 percent of the songstress’s hit single was copied from their song.
Apparently, the lyrics for “Playas Gon’ Play” included “Playas, they gonna play and haters, they gonna hate,” a familiar play of words for fans of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” released in 2014.
However, a spokesperson for the 27-year-old pop star refuted the claims, saying that the lawsuit was a “money grab” attempt based on a statement released to People.
“This is a ridiculous claim and nothing more than a money grab. The law is simple and clear. They do not have a case.”
Ever since it was released, “Shake It Off” became popular and even occupied the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 for several months. This may be why people are trying to take advantage of it through lawsuits.
In fact, one other artist filed a copyright suit against the hit-maker, targeting the same set of lyrics Hall and Butler claimed were theirs.
‘Ridiculous’ Copyright Lawsuit Against Taylor Swift for ‘Shake It off’ Is ‘Nothing but a Money Grab,’ Says Rep https://t.co/1DdKGGx9MM
— People (@people) September 19, 2017
At the time, R&B artist Jesse Braham, more popularly known as Jesse Graham, filed a $42 million suit against Swift, but ultimately failed to get the court to agree that his claims had legal basis, as previously reported by People.
The case was dismissed in 2015 after the pop star’s lawyers undermined Braham’s claims by proving that Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” lyrics “players gonna play” and “haters gonna hate” have already been Google search results years before he even released his song, “Haters Gone Hate.”
Now, it seems like Taylor is being targeted once again by “money-grabbers” as another case against her is filed with a similar claim.
Quite notably, the complainants are already accomplished in their line of careers as they have worked with artists like the Backstreet Boys, Aaron Carter, Christina Milian, and Victoria Beckham for Butler; and Lionel Richie, Justin Bieber, Pink, and Maroon 5 for Hall.
Still, they are asking for “a ton of money” in the lawsuit against Swift, according to TMZ, although no specific amount has been revealed yet.
Do you think this lawsuit about Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” will be dismissed too? Sound off in the comments section below.
[Featured Image by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images]
