Miley Cyrus could be in some serious debt pretty soon over copyright infringement. A new lawsuit placed in Manhattan on Tuesday finds the singer/songwriter fighting against Michael May, a.k.a. Flourgon, who claims Cyrus's hit single "We Can't Stop" closely resembles his own 1988 tune, "We Run Things." Now, Flourgon expects the pop singer to cough up $300 million for her transgression. Yikes. That's a whole lot of moolah to ask for.
Reuters reported on Miley Cyrus's recent legal headache. Flourgon's "We Run Things" was a number one hit in the musician's home country of Jamaica. He believes the popular 25-year-old singer lifted "about 50 percent" from his own signature tune in her 2013 single, particularly the lyrics "We run things/ Things don't run we," which Flourgon believes Cyrus ripped from his song, where he sings, "We run things/ Things no run we."
You gotta admit, that phrase alone is pretty darn similar. If it's $300 million similar is something the judge and the lawyers will have to argue among themselves. In addition to the legal fees, Flourgon wants Miley Cyrus to halt any subsequent sales and performances of the hit song as well.
Miley Cyrus and her team haven't responded to these legal claims at this time. Here's what a representative for Michael May said about the matter.
[Miley Cyrus's song] owes the basis of its chart-topping popularity to, and its highly-lucrative success to, plaintiff May's protected, unique, creative and original content.
"We Can't Stop" was released on Miley Cyrus's 2013 album Bangerz, and it landed on the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 back in August 2013. Whether or not it's the source of copyright infringement is something that'll need to be discussed in the months or possibly years to come. (You can listen to the tunes here and here and judge for yourself if Flourgon has a good case here.) In any case, Miley Cyrus has a few other things to focus on.
It was announced just today that Miley Cyrus is joining Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Mary J. Blige and more for a collection of Elton John tribute albums set to be released in April. She'll be performing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" and "The Bitch Is Back," respectively. Cyrus also recently released her sixth studio album, Younger Now, last September. There's no word yet on an upcoming tour, but if this case breaks her bank, you should expect to see one. With a net worth estimated around $200 million as of last year, this recent lawsuit could potentially set her back quite a few bucks. We'll keep you posted if that happens.
I’m Obsessed With How Daniel Weyman’s Performance Impacted The Rings Of Power’s Showrunners’ Choice To Make The Stranger Gandalf
The Princess And The Frog’s Anika Noni Rose Recalls Moment That Made Her ‘Burst Into Tears’ In Her Final Audition, And It's Giving Me Chills
Silo Season 2 Is At The Halfway Point, And I Have A Major Worry About Steve Zahn's Solo
