Taylor Swift claims she never stole lyrics from 3LW for

Taylor Swift claims she never stole lyrics from 3LW for her song Shake It Off

Taylor Swift has responded to plagiarism allegations by two songwriters who claim her song “Shake It Off” is not a fully original work.

The 32-year-old singer is being sued by songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, who allege that her 2014 hit Shake It Off nullified lines from her 2001 song Playas Gon’ Play, which was performed by girl group 3LW.

In an affidavit seen by Billboard, Taylor said she never stole any lyrics from the 2001 song, adding that she’s never heard of the group that released it.

Speaking of which, Taylor Swift has responded to allegations of plagiarism from two songwriters who claim their song Shake It Off is not a fully original work

Speaking of which, Taylor Swift has responded to allegations of plagiarism from two songwriters who claim their song Shake It Off is not a fully original work

She said: “Until I learned of the plaintiffs’ allegation in 2017, I had never heard of the song Playas Gon’ Play and had never heard of that song or the group 3LW.

Taylor added that her parents “didn’t let me watch until I was about 13 years old. None of the CDs I listened to as a child or since were by 3LW.

“I’ve never heard the song ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ on the radio, on TV, or in any movie. The first time I ever heard the song was after that claim was made.

The lines “Players Gonna Play” and “Haters Gonna Hate” appear in similar versions in each song.

Claims: The 32-year-old singer is being sued by songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, who allege that her 2014 hit Shake It Off nullified lines from her 2001 song Playas Gon' Play, which was performed by girl group 3LW (3LW pictured in 20003)

Claims: The 32-year-old singer is being sued by songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, who allege that her 2014 hit Shake It Off nullified lines from her 2001 song Playas Gon’ Play, which was performed by girl group 3LW (3LW pictured in 20003)

The girl group 3LW was active in the late ’90s and early ’00s and consisted of Naturi Noughton and The Cheetah Girls stars Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams.

Playas Gon’ Play received substantial airplay, peaking at number 86 on the Hot 100 list.

But the track’s success was nothing compared to Taylor’s monster hit Shake It Off, which topped the Hot 100 and several other music charts upon its 2014 release.

In her statement, Taylor also discussed her inspiration for the lyrics of Shake It Off, which came from the “public scrutiny” of her life.

She said: “I remember other kids hearing phrases about players and haters while attending school in Wyomissing Hills and in high school in Hendersonville.

Statement: In an affidavit seen by Billboard, Taylor said she never stole any lyrics from the 2001 song, adding that she's never heard of the group that released it

Statement: In an affidavit seen by Billboard, Taylor said she never stole any lyrics from the 2001 song, adding that she’s never heard of the group that released it

‘These phrases were similar to other commonly used sayings such as ‘don’t hate the playa, hate the game’, ‘take a chill pill’ and ‘say it, don’t spray it.’

The case was previously dismissed by the judge, but the songwriters will be able to take their case to court after a federal judge rules that the lawsuit goes to trial.

U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald allowed the case to go to trial after finding that a jury could find she had plagiarized the lines.

He had previously stated that the similar lines were too “banal” to qualify as copyright infringement.

He listed 13 songs from decades past, including Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams and The Notorious BIG’s Playa Hater, that contained similar lines to back up his claim.

“The idea of ​​actors acting according to their essential nature is not creative at all; it’s banal,” he wrote. “In sum, the texts in question are … too short, unoriginal and uncreative to justify protection under copyright law.”

She said:

She said: “I’ve never heard the song ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ on the radio, on TV or in any movie. The first time I heard the song was after that claim was made.

Hall and Butler — who wrote and produced Playas Gon’ Play — originally filed their lawsuit in 2017, and after it was dismissed, they filed an appeal seeking a jury trial and damages.

In 2019, a federal appeals court reversed the original decision, ruling that Fitzgerald should not have dismissed it, and the case was returned to him.

This time, he denied Taylor’s motion for summary judgment, a finding that she had not violated the songwriters’ copyright.

“While there are some notable differences between the works, there are also significant similarities in word usage and order/structure,” Fitzgerald wrote, according to Billboard. “Although defendants’ experts strongly refute the implication that there are material similarities, the Court is not inclined to place undue emphasis on their opinions here.”

He added that “the Court is unable at this time to find that a reasonable juror could not identify any material similarity in lyrical phrasing, word order, or poetic structure between the two works.”

Not Unique: The judge previously dismissed the case, saying the Playas Gon' Play lines Swift has been accused of reusing appeared in a similar form on previous songs by Fleetwood Mac and The Notorious BIG (3LW pictured in 2001 in NYC ).

Not Unique: The judge previously dismissed the case, saying the Playas Gon’ Play lines Swift has been accused of reusing appeared in a similar form on previous songs by Fleetwood Mac and The Notorious BIG (3LW pictured in 2001 in NYC ).

Representatives for the folk singer have yet to issue a statement, but an attorney for Hall and Butler said the court “did the right thing.”

“Our clients are finally getting closer to the justice they so desperately deserve,” said her lawyer, Marina Bogorad. “The opinion … is particularly gratifying to her because it reinforces the idea that her creativity and unique expression cannot be abused without retaliation.”

Although Taylor must now go to court over the lawsuit, the judge has not yet set a court date.

Taylor has survived previous lawsuits over her song, including a 2015 lawsuit filed by songwriter Jessie Braham, who claimed she plagiarized from his 2013 song Haters Gonna Hate, although the case was dismissed.

The singer was on the other side of the equation with Olivia Rodrigo’s hit album Sour, which was released in May.

The actress and singer proactively listed Taylor as a co-writer of her song Deja Vu as it shared similarities with her 2019 song Cruel Summer, although Taylor was not involved in the creation of Olivia’s song.

Hit: In her statement, Taylor discussed her inspiration for the lyrics of Shake It Off, which came from the 'public scrutiny' of her life (pictured in 2021)

Hit: In her statement, Taylor discussed her inspiration for the lyrics of Shake It Off, which came from the ‘public scrutiny’ of her life (pictured in 2021)