Singer who wrote 'DNA test' tweet says Lizzo is giving her credit on 'Truth Hurts'
Lizzo has apparently decided that a British singer 100 percent deserves some credit for her most popular lyric.
Singer Mina Lioness tweeted Wednesday that she's getting a writing credit on Lizzo's hit song "Truth Hurts" after claiming her tweet was plagiarized. Lizzo's song, released in September 2017, features the lyric "I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100 percent that bitch." In February 2017, Lioness tweeted, "I did a DNA test and found out I'm 100 percent that bitch."
Lizzo has maintained that she never saw Lioness' tweet and that she was instead inspired by a meme, The Washington Post reports. But Lizzo said Wednesday she later learned that this meme was apparently inspired by Lioness' tweet, and so "the creator of the tweet is the person I am sharing my success with."
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This case is separate from another plagiarism claim made against Lizzo by Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, who worked with her on an unreleased song that also featured a version of the DNA test line, as well as what they say is a similar beat, but didn't receive credit for "Truth Hurts." Jeremiah Raisen claims he was the one who suggested using the "100 percent" line after another writer shared the Instagram meme in a session, The New York Times reports.
But Lizzo said Wednesday that "the men who now claim a piece of 'Truth Hurts' did not help me write any part of the song" and had "nothing to do with the line." She's now suing the songwriters, saying they "expressly withdrew any claim to 'Truth Hurts,'" Variety reports.
Lioness thanked Lizzo by celebrating the line she has now been credited for, writing, "I just took a DNA Test, turns out I'm a credited writer for the number one song on Billboard."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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