Lizzo Accused By Songwriter Of Plagiarism For “Truth Hurts”

Lizzo is being accused of plagiarism again for her ubiquitous song “Truth Hurts.” Singer-songwriter Justin Raisen, who reportedly wrote a track called “Healthy” in 2017 with Lizzo, claims that he was never given credit for the components that make up “Truth Hurts,” which account for its chords, melody and lyrics, Complex reports.

The line that Raisen has an issue with is the catchy opening of the track: “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100 percent that bi**h.” In a lengthy Instagram post, he shared a mash-up of both “Healthy” and “Truth Hurts” accompanied by footage of Lizzo and his team in the studio.

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The Truth about “Truth Hurts” On April 11th, 2017, we wrote a song called “Healthy” w/ Lizzo, Jesse St John, and Yves Rothman at our studio. “I just took a DNA test turns out I’m 100% that bitch” was taken from “Healthy” and used in “Truth Hurts”. We were never contacted about being credited for the use of the parts of “Healthy” (melody, lyrics, and chords) that appear in “Truth Hurts”. After reaching out to Ricky Reed and Lizzo’s team about fixing it, we put the song in dispute in 2017 when it 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. 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. Shout out to the singer Mina Lioness ( @minalioness ) for tweeting “I just did a DNA test turns out I’m 100% that bitch”. A meme of that came up in our writing session & inspired the lyric and melody we wrote together. 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. The clip below shows a video & photos from the day we wrote “Healthy” along with the comparisons between the two works. All the Love, Justin & Jeremiah Raisen #lizzo #truthhurts #healthy #billboard

A post shared by Justin Raisen (@justinraisen) on Oct 14, 2019 at 11:50pm PDT

“On April 11th, 2017, we wrote a song called ‘Healthy’ w/ Lizzo, Jesse St John, and Yves Rothman at our studio. ‘I just took a DNA test turns out I’m 100% that bitch’ was taken from ‘Healthy’ and used in ‘Truth Hurts,'” he wrote. “We were never contacted about being credited for the use of the parts of ‘Healthy’ (melody, lyrics, and chords) that appear in ‘Truth Hurts.’

“After reaching out to Ricky Reed and Lizzo’s team about fixing it, we put the song in dispute in 2017 when it came out,” he added. “We’ve tried to sort this out quietly for the last two years, only asking for 5% each but were shutdown every time.”

In another instance, British singer Mina Lioness claimed in February 2018 that she first tweeted the resounding lyric. After hearing about the claim, Lizzo said she’s never seen the tweet and was inspired by a meme. In a video produced by Billboard, Lizzo revealed how she made “Truth Hurts.” The Texas native said the main inspiration behind the song was her life experiences with men.