Since its September 2017 release, no phrase has been more strongly associated with American singer/rapper Lizzo, than the quip featured in Truth Hurts. “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that bitch,” has been often quoted, referenced, and even re-made by millions of TikTok users, as well as rap and K-pop remix. While this clever quip is famously linked to Lizzo, the truth may indeed hurt – because Lizzo’s actual ownership over this phrase is anything but 100%.
Lizzo’s first dispute arose out of a February 2017 tweet from a London-based musician known as “Mina Lioness”, who wrote, “I did a DNA test and turns out I’m 100% that bitch”. After the release of Truth Hurts, Lioness took to Twitter again to claim that Lizzo had stolen her idea, which Lizzo disputed. Lizzo stated – also via Twitter – that not only did she write the lyrics before Mina Lioness’ tweet was posted, but that she furthermore never saw the tweet.
While the dispute between Lizzo and Lioness was public, legal remedy was not pursued. This is in contrast to the second, and perhaps more serious challenge facing Lizzo’s ownership of the lyric. When Lizzo began attempting to trademark the line in the summer of 2019, this second challenger decided to take their claims – and existing legal efforts – public.
Music producer and writer Justin Raisen claims that alongside Jeremiah Raisen, Jesse St. John, and Yves Rothman, and Lizzo herself, the line “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that bitch,” was written for an unreleased demo called Healthy. Raisen goes on to claim that he and his colleagues have been pursuing compensation and ownership since the song’s release in 2017, and that it is only following Lizzo’s filing of a trademark for the disputed lyric that he felt the need to make public the dispute.
Lizzo has contradicted Raisen’s claim in no uncertain terms. In the New York Times, one of her lawyers is quoted as having said, “The Raisens are not writers of ‘Truth Hurts.’…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.”
While from a layperson’s perspective there has been significant resistance to Lizzo’s contention that she wholly owns the lyric, “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100% that bitch,” Lizzo may still hold all the cards.
Mina Lioness’ tweet does not alone entitle her to the phrase’s ownership – she did not commercialize the phrase in any way. We have entered an age in which memes can be monetized, and it was Lizzo, not Lioness who did this by creating a chart-topping song. Raisen’s claim may be somewhat murkier in its legitimacy, particularly given the he-said/she-said nature of a legal dispute playing out on social media. Supporters of Lizzo claim that her co-writers are simply after a paycheck, while her challengers point to their steady and documented pursuance of a moderate 5% in royalties.
Whether Lizzo and her team go on to compromise with their challengers, or stand firmly by her rights to the lyric, it will be fascinating to watch and weigh-in on possible outcomes.
Article by Madeleine Macdonald Testa