Taylor Swift Stole “Shake It Off”? Sued $42 Million By Jesse Graham: “This Song Is My Song All The Way”
Taylor Swift is being sued for a whopping $42 million by U.S. R&B singer Jesse Braham. Braham alleges that Swift stole the words to his 2013 song “Haters Gone Hate” and used them in her 2014 hit “Shake It Off.” As reported by the BBC, Braham wants both compensation and his name added to the credits of the track.
Braham, who is better known by his stage name Jesse Graham, claims ownership of two phrases which appear in Taylor Swift’s song’s chorus. Specifically, “haters gone hate” and “playas gone play.”
Fifty-year-old Braham explained to the New York Daily News that he didn’t believe Taylor Swift wrote the song independently of his. He also claims he has spoken to the singer’s record label about the issue a handful of times although he was told there was no basis to his claims.
“Her hook is the same hook as mine. If I didn’t write the song ‘Haters Gone Hate,’ there wouldn’t be a song called “‘Shake It Off.’
“At first I was going to let it go, but this song is my song all the way.””
Taylor Swift sued $42 million by Jesse Braham, an AmerIcan R&B singer! Claims Swift stole his “‘Shake It Off’ lyrics! pic.twitter.com/gxN9UjxdWQ
— John Zelaski (@jzelaski) November 3, 2015
As yet, Swift’s representatives have not released any official comment. Her fans, however, have leapt to her defense, bringing forth evidence that — in their opinion — shows the singer couldn’t possibly have stolen the lyrics of her hit song.
Reasons why Shake It Off by Taylor Swift isn’t a copy of Haters Gone Hate by Jesse Graham pic.twitter.com/540pJW0Wru
— CATastrophe (@MeredithLovesMe) November 2, 2015
Listening to 1989 this morning. #solidarity https://t.co/cmyCkfyKBy pic.twitter.com/KDUGnU3z1p
— Felicity Slater (@FelicitySlater) November 2, 2015
Poor Taylor has gone through a lot recently, as within the past week she filed a counterclaim against a radio DJ in the US. David Mueller is suing Taylor Swift over allegations she made that he groped her back in June of 2013. While Mueller claims it was one of his superiors who assaulted the singer, Taylor’s lawyers are adamant that he was the perpetrator.
“Ms Swift knows exactly who committed the assault – it was Mueller.”
In other happier news, Swift brought her “1989” US tour to an amazing close on Saturday. Together with Frozen star Idina Menzel, the “Shake It Off” singer wowed the Florida crowd at Raymond James Stadium with an amazing Frozen Finale!
According to the Daily Mail, Swift looked like she was having a ball dressed as Olaf the snowman as she invited Menzel onto the stage in her Elsa disguise.
In a moment kids all over the world could only have dreamed of til then, the ladies sang “Let It Go.” Taylor took to Instagram to upload a photo and showed how amazed she was at the crowd’s reaction to the duet.
“Frozen totally happened tonight. And 55,000 people sang “Let it Go” so loudly, it nearly took my breath away. Good times, @idinamenzel.”
https://instagram.com/p/9iWuc-jvKZ/
Menzel was similarly impressed and found the entire experience to be amazing as she replied to Taylor’s comment.
“Thank you @taylorswift! That was definitely an out of body experience. Or out of Elsa’s body experience! #1989tourtampa.”
https://instagram.com/p/9hqTiHrmWQ/
Menzel isn’t the only special guest Taylor Swift has invited on stage during the tour. The list runs like a who’s who of rock and pop royalty. Huge names including Ricky Martin, Mick Jagger, Pitbull, Jason Derulo, Nick Jonas, Justin Timberlake, and Keith Urban have sung with the 25-year-old starlet, whose next stops on tour are Singapore, China and Australia.
It looks like the queen of pop has been keeping a close eye on Taylor Swift’s tour tactics. As reported by the New York Post, Madonna, who is currently on her “Rebel Heart” tour has been inviting plenty of special guests onto the stage to share the spotlight.
As a clever way to keep herself in the headlines, Madonna most recently invited Katy Perry to guest on her stage. Lucky Katy was given a swig of a drink from a banana-shaped flask along with a little spank during a performance of “Unapologetic B***h.” Katy didn’t get special treatment from Madge, though, as the legendary singer has been giving all her guests a banana, a spank and the title of “Unapologetic B***h of the Evening” in return for their services! Perhaps Madonna will invite Taylor Swift to be one of her special guests later in the tour. Now that would be interesting!
[Photo by Tinseltown / Shutterstock]
