Lizzo Refutes ‘Truth Hurts’ Credit Controversy: ‘That Song Is My Life’
Lizzo rebuffed claims that she did not properly credit two songwriters on her hit “Truth Hurts” in a note posted on Twitter Wednesday. “That song is my life, and its words are my truth,” the musician wrote.
Last week, songwriting brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen claimed that in April 2017 they took part in a writing session with Lizzo, Jesse Saint John and Yves Rothman, during which they all wrote a song called “Healthy” that contained the memorable line, “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that bitch.”
In an Instagram post, Justin Raisen claimed he and his brother were never contacted about being credited for the portions of “Healthy” that ended up in “Truth Hurts,” and their attempts to solve the matter were repeatedly shot down (complicating matters, the New York Times previously reported that the Raisens had revoked their claim over the song via their publisher, Kobalt).
In response, Lizzo reiterated her side of the story, saying that the “DNA test” line was inspired by a meme she saw “that resonated with me, a meme that made me feel like 100% that bitch. I sang that line in the demo, and I later used the line in ‘Truth Hurts.’”
The Raisens did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request to comment.
— #STREAMTRUTHHURTS (@lizzo) October 23, 2019
She continued, “The men who now claim a piece of ‘Truth Hurts’ did not help me write any part of the song. They had nothing to do with the line or how I chose to sing it. There was no one in the room when I wrote ‘Truth Hurts,’ except me, Ricky Reed and my tears.”
In a statement, Lizzo’s attorney, Cynthia Arato, said the artist had filed a lawsuit to establish that the Raisens had nothing to do with “Truth Hurts” and “have no right to profit from the song’s success.” It continued: “The Raisens did not collaborate with Lizzo or anyone else to create the 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, as the lawsuit makes abundantly clear. Although it is all too commonplace for successful artists to be subjected to these type of opportunistic claims, it is nevertheless disappointing that Lizzo had to take this step to put an end to the Raisens’ false claims and their campaign of harassment.”
While Lizzo denied that the Raisens contributed to the song, she did acknowledge another musician, singer Mina Lioness, who previously claimed she was responsible for the “DNA test” line. In February 2018, Lioness and Lizzo exchanged tweets, in which the former claimed that the meme Lizzo saw was drawn from a February 2017 tweet of hers that read, “I did a DNA test and found out I’m 100% that bitch.”
At the time, Lizzo denied having ever seen Lioness’ tweet, but in her post Thursday she said, “The creator of the tweet is the person I am sharing my success with… not these men. Period.” Per a tweet from Lioness, she’s officially been credited as a songwriter on “Truth Hurts.”