2 writers claim they deserve credit on Lizzo's 'Truth Hurts'

There's a debate about the truth behind Lizzo's "Truth Hurts."

Lizzo's breakthrough tune, which spent six weeks on top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart this year, features the signature line: "I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100 percent that bitch." The lyric originated from a 2017 tweet by singer Mina Lioness and was turned into a popular meme, which was then used in Lizzo's song "Healthy," created in 2017.

The songwriting brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, who worked on "Healthy," claim say they deserve writing credit on "Truth Hurts" since the song borrows from "Healthy," a tune they co-wrote.

FILe - This Sept. 20, 2019 file photo shows singer Lizzo at the 92nd Street Y in New York. There’s a debate about the truth behind Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts.” The songwriting brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, who worked on Lizzo's other song “Healthy,” claim say they deserve writing credit on “Truth Hurts” since the song borrows a line from a tune they co-wrote. (Photo by Evan AgostiniInvisionAP, File)

"We were never contacted about being credited for the use of the parts of "Healthy" (melody, lyrics, and chords) that appear in "Truth Hurts," Justin Raisen wrote Tuesday on Instagram , explaining that they worked on "Healthy" in April 2017.

The songwriters credited on "Truth Hurts" are Lizzo, Ricky Reed, Tele and Jesse Saint John. "Truth Hurts" was originally released in September 2017 but got a boost this year after it was featured in the Netflix film "Someone Great," released on April 19, the same day Lizzo dropped her album, "Cuz I Love You."

?Truth Hurts" wasn't originally featured on the 11-track "Cuz I Love You," but her record label added it to the deluxe version of the album, released on May 3.

FILE - This Sept. 25, 2019 file photo shows singersongwriter Lizzo on stage at The Anthem in Washington. There’s a debate about the truth behind Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts.” The songwriting brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, who worked on Lizzo's other song “Healthy,” claim say they deserve writing credit on “Truth Hurts” since the song borrows a line from a tune they co-wrote. (Photo by Brent N. ClarkeInvisionAP, File)

"After reaching out to Ricky Reed and Lizzo's team about fixing it, we put the song in dispute in 2017 when it came out," Justin Raisen continued on Instagram. "We've tried to sort this out quietly for the last two years, only asking for 5% each but were shutdown every time."

But Lizzo's lawyer said in a statement that "The Raisens are not writers of" Lizzo's international hit.

"They did not collaborate with Lizzo or anyone else to create this song, and they did not help write any of the material that they now seek to profit from, which is why they expressly renounced any claim to the work, in writing, months ago," Cynthia Arato said in a statement Wednesday.

"Although it has become all too commonplace for successful artists to be subjected to these type of opportunistic claims, it is nevertheless disappointing that after all of her hard work, Lizzo has to respond to this specious claim."

The New York Times reported that the Raisens rescinded an earlier claim over "Truth Hurts" through their publisher, Kobalt.

Outside of the all-genre Hot 100 chart, "Truth Hurts" spent seven weeks at No. 1 on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs and Hot rap songs chart, respectively. It was submitted for the 2020 Grammys in categories like song and record of the year — where songwriters and producers also earn nominations; the Recording Academy will announce its nominees on Nov. 20.

"The last thing we want to do is throw any negativity toward Lizzo's momentum and movement as a cultural figure. If we believe in what she's preaching, believing in ourselves & our own voices is something we thought she'd understand," Justin Raisen wrote.

Lizzo is currently selling T-shirts on her website that read "100% that bitch " — the line created by Lioness (She didn't immediately reply to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment).

"If Ricky and Lizzo's team decide to settle this dispute with us, we would like to share some of the proceeds with Mina for her influence on Healthy," Justin Raisen wrote.

BEIRUT (AP) — The United States has repatriated 11 of its citizens from sprawling camps in northeastern Syria that house tens of thousands of family members of suspected Islamic State militants, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday.

The repatriation was the largest Washington has carried out from the camps to date, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Five of the 11 citizens brought back were children, and one non-U.S. citizen child -- the 9-year-old sibling of one of the other children -- was also brought with them.

As part of the same operation, the U.S. facilitated the repatriation of 11 other camp residents, eight of them children, to Canada, the Netherlands and Finland, the statement said.

Although the pace of repatriations has picked up -- neighboring Iraq recently returned hundreds of its citizens -- many countries remain reluctant to bring back citizens from the al Hol and al Roj camps, which now hold about 30,000 people from more than 60 countries, most of them children.

The camps are run by local authorities affiliated with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF and its allies, including U.S.-led coalition forces, defeated the Islamic State group in Syria in 2019, ending its self-proclaimed Islamic “caliphate” that had ruled over a large swath of territory straddling Iraq and Syria.

Human rights groups have regularly reported on what they describe as inhumane living conditions and abuses in the camps and in detention centers where suspected IS members are housed.

“The only durable solution to the humanitarian and security crisis” in the facilities “is for countries to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and where appropriate, ensure accountability for wrongdoing,” Blinken said in the statement.

FILE - Kurdish forces patrol al-Hol camp, which houses families of members of the Islamic State group in Hasakeh province, Syria, on April 19, 2023. The United States has repatriated 11 of its citizens from sprawling camps in northeastern Syria that house tens of thousands of family members of suspected Islamic State militants, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File)

FILE - Women shop in the marketplace at al-Hol camp, home to families of Islamic State fighters, in Hasakeh province, Syria, on March 31, 2019. The United States has repatriated 11 of its citizens from sprawling camps in northeastern Syria that house tens of thousands of family members of suspected Islamic State militants, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)