Source: WENN/Avalon / WENN
Lizzo is walking in her truth once again after a judge sided with her in court.
According to published reports, a judge in the United States District Court Central District of California dismissed the countersuit against the “Cuz I Love You” singer after three individuals, Justin Raisen, Jeremiah Raisen, and Justin “Yves” Rothman, was seeking royalties from the song.
Lizzo originally sued Justin Raisen, Jeremiah Raisen, and Yves Rothman in October 2019, seeking “a judicial declaration” that they “did not co-author ‘Truth Hurts,’ and have no right to co-own that work or to share in its profits.” The trio countersued in February, claiming the single was derived from a song with they worked on with Lizzo called “Healthy.”
U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee sided with Lizzo’s initial claim, noting the Raisiens and Rothman themselves alleged “Healthy” was an already completed song and not the demo version for “Truth Hurts.”
While rendering her judgment, Judge Gee 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,” before noting that the plaintiffs themselves allege that “Healthy” was itself a completed “standalone” song and not merely a demo for “Truth Hurts.” Lizzo’s initial suit was prompted by claims Justin Raisen made online that Lizzo used the “melody, lyrics, and chords” of the “Healthy” demo for “Truth Hurts.”
Lizzo responded to the plaintiff’s claim in 2019, denouncing the trios claim, before crediting singer Mina Lioness’s social media post with inspiring her to create the monstrous hit in 2017.
“The men who now claim a piece of Truth Hurts did not help me write any part of the song,” she wrote. “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.”
Although Lizzo’s motion to dismiss the Raisens and Rothman’s first counterclaim was granted, Judge Gee gave the trio until September 4 to amend their suit to allege new and different facts or notify Lizzo and the court of their intent not to do so.
