Lizzo is taking over the world with her body positive, flute playing, sass queening ways and I am not mad about it.
But, it turns out, her fame isn’t entirely her own. Well, it is – she’s a hard working woman who deserves every accolade that comes her way – but it started with someone else. Specifically, a woman named Mina Lioness.
Mina is a British singer and the original genius behind Lizzo’s “100% that b*tch” lyric in her chart-topping song ‘Truth Hurts’.
It all started in February 2017, when Mina tweeted this out into the universe:
Looks very familiar.
Enter Lizzo who apparently saw the tweet on a meme and was inspired to write ‘Truth Hurts’.
At the time the track was initially released, Lizzo denied Mina was the source of the song’s inspiration.
“I’ve never seen this before in my life, that’s crazy,” she said.
“But u know, there’s 10 BILLION ppl on the planet. The odds of multiple people having the same idea are VERY high. The odds of multiple ppl putting it in song w/ millions of streams are low tho. Nothin new under the sun.”
Of course, a legal battle began. But Mina isn’t the only party who tried to cash in on ‘Truth Hurts’.
The Raisen brothers also accused Lizzo of stealing from them. The pair think they should be given credit on ‘Truth Hurts’ because the the lyric — “I just took a DNA test / Turns out I’m 100% that bitch” — was used in an unreleased track called “Healthy” from an April 2017 studio session with Lizzo and other songwriters.
Lizzo’s reps told the New York Times in a statement that the men “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.”
Which brings us to today, where Lizzo settled legal issues surrounding the iconic song.
Lizzo has granted Mina credit for ‘Truth Hurts’ along with a share of the royalties.
But while Lizzo has squashed her beef with Mina, she is now suing The Raisen brothers and a third writer, Jesse Saint John, who claim they deserve credit too.
She’s seeking a declaratory judgement that none of them had any part in Truth Hurts, and for unspecified damages.
Basically, it’s a bit of a hot mess. But it’s refreshing to see Lizzo be open and honest about the controversy.
It’s nice to see Lizzo admit her past mistakes and give credit where credit is due.
And to not let other people stuff her around for a slice of her success.
Like I said, Lizzo is taking over the world. And I am not mad about it.