NEW YORK: A Jamaican artist has filed a $300 million lawsuit against pop star Miley Cyrus over her 2013 hit “We Can’t Stop,” saying a key lyric was snatched from him.
On the track about exploring sexual and other personal freedom, Cyrus sings, “And we can’t stop / We run things, things don’t run we / Don’t take nothing from nobody.”
Flourgon, a Jamaican dancehall artist who enjoyed hits in the 1980s and 1990s, said the turn of phrase was taken from his 1988 song “We Run Things,” whose lyrics include, “We run things / Things no run we.”
Flourgon, whose real name is Michael May, is seeking $300 million from Cyrus, her label Sony Music and her team of songwriters and musicians — a highly ambitious sum that is more than the pop star’s estimated net worth.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a federal court in New York, said the lyrics belonged “distinctly” to Flourgon with “roots in Jamaican Patois with its own unique phraseology and linguistic combinations that, when translated into English, is not grammatically correct.”
Flourgon said Cyrus built her career off the single, noting that it came out around the time that the former star of the Disney series “Hannah Montana” was adopting an edgier, more sexualized public persona.
Cyrus “dramatically changed her style of dress and personal vocalizations to reflect the grittiness, aggression and sultriness associated with US-based hip-hop, R&B, urban and Caribbean music,” the lawsuit said.
The 25-year-old singer did not immediately respond to the lawsuit, which also seeks to prevent her from further performances of “We Can’t Stop.”
The pop starlet has faced accusations in the past of appropriating black culture, especially when she twerked her behind against singer Robin Thicke at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2013.
“We Can’t Stop” coincidentally only reached number two on the US singles chart because it was held back by Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” which was targeted in a landmark lawsuit.
Thicke and co-writer Pharrell Williams were ordered to pay more than $7 million to the estate of Marvin Gaye after a jury found similarities to his song “Got to Give It Up.”
But a judge recently rejected a lawsuit revolving around lyrics against Taylor Swift, saying that the words in her song “Shake It Off” were too banal for copyright infringement.
Jamaican singer sues Miley Cyrus for $300 million over lyric
Jamaican singer sues Miley Cyrus for $300 million over lyric
Dutch couple’s marriage annulled due to ChatGPT speech
- The pair said “I do” and the officiant declared them “not only husband and wife, but above all a team”
- The judge found that they had not actually sworn to fulfil their marriage duties
AMSTERDAM: A Dutch couple had their marriage annulled after the person officiating used a ChatGPT-generated speech that was intended to be playful but failed to meet legal requirements, according to a court ruling published this week.
The pair from the city of Zwolle, whose names were redacted from the January 5 decision under Dutch privacy rules, argued that they had intended to marry regardless of whether the right wording was used when they took their vows.
According to the decision, the person officiating their ceremony last April 19 asked whether they would “continue supporting each other, teasing each other and embracing each other, even when life gets difficult.”
The pair said “I do” and the officiant declared them “not only husband and wife, but above all a team, a crazy couple, each other’s love and home base.”
But the judge found that they had not actually sworn to fulfil their marriage duties — something that is required under Dutch law.
“The court understands that the date in the marriage deed is important to the man and woman, but cannot ignore what the law says.” It ordered the marriage removed from the Zwolle city registry.
