Lizzo Wins Legal Battle Over ‘Truth Hurts’ Lawsuit

Lizzo

Lizzo Wins Legal Battle Over ‘Truth Hurts’ Lawsuit

Grammy-Award winning singer Lizzo might be feeling extra good. A lawsuit concerning her “Truth Hurts” breakout single has ended in her favor in the U.S. District Court Central District of California, according to new reports.

Lizo initially sued brothers Justin Raisen and Jeremiah Raisen, along with Yves Rothman in 2019, asking the court for a “judicial declaration” that the trio “did not co-author ‘Truth Hurts’ and have no right to co-own that work or to share in its profits.”

Her lawsuit was in response to the brothers calling her out on social media for not giving them credit on the song they alleged they helped her write. The Raisen brothers and Rothman responded to Lizzo’s lawsuit with a countersuit in February, stating that “Truth Hurts” was from a song “Healthy” that they co-wrote with her.

But their claims were tossed out as U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee sided with Lizzo and ruled that,

“a joint author of one copyrightable work does not automatically gain ownership of a derivative work in which the joint author had no hand in creating.”

She pointed out that the Raisen brothers admitted “Healthy” was its own song and wasn’t a demo for “Truth Hurts.”

But Lizzo’s legal woes might not be over yet. The judge gave the Raisens and Rothman permission to change their complaint with new and different facts by Sept. 4.

Justin Raisen’s lawyer Larry Iser said in a statement:

“The court’s decision to dismiss just one of our five counterclaims is only a temporary setback, as Judge Gee has granted us leave to amend our pleading. We will be submitting amended counterclaims, which will address the court’s concerns with our original pleading. We know the truth may hurt, but Lizzo will not be able to continue denying our clients’ substantial contributions to the Grammy winning song for much longer.