Lizzo Sued for Copyright Infringement Over Snippet That References Sydney Sweeney’s Controversial American Eagle Ad
Lizzo has become the latest artist to be sued by a company based in Georgia over uncleared samples, according to documents filed Tuesday in California.
In a social media snippet posted in August, Lizzo performed a portion of an unreleased song, apparently titled “I’m Goin’ In Till October,” that sampled the song “Win or Lose (We Tried),” which is represented for publishing in the case by a company named The GRC Trust.
In that brief clip and another, Lizzo was satirizing the media attention around an ad campaign starring Sydney Sweeney for the clothing brand American Eagle, including the line “I got good jeans like I’m Sydney.”
Plaintiff Jimmy Ginn is listed as the owner of the publishing rights for “Win or Lose (We Tried)” in BMI’s database. Sam Dees is listed as the composer of the song, one of his 399 credits registered to the repertory.
Lawyers for GRC write in their complaint that Lizzo and her label, Atlantic, “obtained profits they would not have realized but for their infringement of GRC’s rights” and that they “attempted informal resolution of the dispute but reached an impasse,” requiring a lawsuit. They are seeking any profits Lizzo and her label made, as well as damages and attorneys’ fees.
“We are surprised that The GRC Trust filed this lawsuit,” Lizzo’s representative told the BBC. “To be clear, the song has never been commercially released or monetised.”
In September, GRC Trust also sued Kanye West, his company Yeezy, the company Kano and the rapper Vory over another alleged copyright infringement over sampling the song “Always Keep Your Love (Just Out of My Reach)” in West’s “Lord Lift Me Up.” Dees is listed as a co-writer of that song, along with Jesse Lewis, in BMI’s database, with Jimmy Ginn as publishing holder. Lawyers for Yeezy requested on Tuesday that the case be dismissed, and a hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19.
Lizzo was previously sued over alleged infringements related to her hit “Truth Hurts,” which in 2019 spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard 100 singles chart; that case was largely dismissed. Also related to that song was a now-famous tweet from the singer Mina Lioness, which spawned the lyric “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that bitch.” Mina Lioness was eventually named as a co-writer of “Truth Hurts.”
