3 Count: Lizzo’s Response

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1: Lizzo Fires Back in Songwriting Dispute, Files Lawsuit Alleging Harassment

First off today, Christi Carras at the Los Angeles Times reports that the musician Lizzo has filed a lawsuit against Justin and Jeremiah Raisen in a bid to have the court rule they have no rights to her song Truth Hurts and to seek damages for harassment.

The story began earlier this week when the Raisens claimed that they co-wrote a song with Lizzo entitled Healthy. They claimed that elements of that song were used in her hit Truth Hurts and they are being denied songwriter credit. Lizzo, however, has decided to not wait for them to file a lawsuit and, instead, is filing a proactive one, asking the court to rule they have no rights to Truth Hurts and to claim they have committed harassment against her.

Lizzo is, however, sharing songwriting credit with singer Mina Lioness, who Lizzo credits with coming up with the line “I just took a DNA test / Turns out I’m 100% that bitch” in a Tweet. Lioness thanked Lizzo on Twitter yesterday for sharing the credit.

2: Emily Ratajkowski is the Latest Celeb to be Sued in Growing Number of Instagram-Centric Copyright Cases

Next up today, The Fashion Law reports that Emily Ratajkowski is joining the long list of celebrities that are being sued for posting photos of themselves on Instagram. She is being sued by Robert O’Neil, who claims that she used his photo without her permission.

O’Neil filed the lawsuit in a New York court alleging that Ratajkowski posted the photo on her Instagram without paying a license fee. The photo, which features Ratajkowski walking down a street, her face obscured by a bouquet of flowers, was previously licensed to The Daily Mail, which appears to have paid for the use.

Ratajkowski has not responded to the lawsuit but the case is part of a growing trend of celebrities being sued by photographers and photo agencies over their use of images on Instagram and other social media. Other celebrities include Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez and more.

3: Macklemore and Ryan Awarded Legal costs in “Objectively Baseless” Copyright Case

Finally today, Chris Cooke at Complete Music Update reports that a court has ordered jazz musician Paul Batiste to pay $125,000 to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to cover their legal fees in defending a lawsuit he filed over the Macklemore song Thrift Shop.

Batiste filed the lawsuit in 2017 alleging that the duo used various melodies and elements from his earlier tracks. However, the court dismissed the case, prompting Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to file a motion to reclaim at least some of their legal fees. Calling the lawsuit “objectively baseless”, the court agreed and granted the duo $125,000 in fees.

Batiste protested the award saying that he is appealing the decision and that the case isn’t actually over. Despite that, the judge took the recommendations of a magistrate judge, which accepted Macklemore’s arguments.

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