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.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.
Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).
Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.
That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.
In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.
Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.
In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.
“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.
Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.
It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.
“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.
It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.
While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.
“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.
Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.
Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
