Taylor Swift Faces $1 Million Lawsuit Over 2019 Lover Booklet
Taylor Swift is set to face another legal proceeding after being sued by author Teresa La Dart. The lawsuit against the 32-year-old Grammy winner is for copyright infringement.
The author is suing Swift for more than a million dollars, claiming that the booklet the pop star released as part of her 2019 Lover album was copied from La Dart’s book of poems, also titled Lover.
La Dart published the book in 2010 with anecdotes, photos, and poems. Due to strong resemblances between her book and Swift’s booklet, the author is certain that Swift copied her book’s vibe and design.
In her complaint, La Dart stated that Taylor and the team working for her read her book and then decided to duplicate the concept, and if this was not enough, all credits were given to Taylor.
The author also mentioned that not only do her book and Taylor’s booklet have the same title, but both are also memories of past years celebrated in written and graphic form. She stated that even the way the photos were styled and the color scheme used were so similar that it was highly unlikely that everything was purely coincidental.
So far, Swift’s legal team has not yet released any comment or response to the claim and La Dart’s demand for more than a million dollars in damages.
Swift’s team may still be preoccupied with another copyright claim thrown at the singer over the smash song “Shake It Off.” At the start of August, Swift’s lawyers submitted a formal response against the plagiarism lawsuit filed by Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, two singers who claimed that the song used lines from their 2021 song “Playas Gon’ Play” performed by a girl group called 3LW.
Note that the lawsuit was filed in 2017 and was already dismissed by a judge with the rationale that the lyrics in question were too generic. The case, unfortunately, was re-opened on appeal.
In her sworn declaration, Swift insisted that she never stole any lyrics from any song.
She explained, “None of the CDs I listened to as a child, or after that, were by 3LW. I have never heard the song ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ on the radio, on television, or in any film. The first time I ever heard the song was after this claim was made.”
Indeed, there was a girl group named 3LW in the late 90s until the early 2000s composed of The Cheetah Girls, Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams, and Naturi Naughton. Their song “Playas Gon’ Play” hit #86 on the Hot 100 charts.
But this is nothing compared to the success of Taylor’s “Shake It Off,” which topped several music charts shortly after its release in 2014.
To further prove her point, Swift also explained her inspiration for the lyrics of “Shake It Off” was derived from the public scrutiny she is often subjected to.
She stated that she remembered hearing other students using terms like “players play” and “haters hate” while attending school in Wyomissing Hills and Hendersonville.
She further explained that these expressions were similar to popular catchphrases like “don’t hate the playa, hate the game,” “take a chill pill,” and “say it, don’t spray it.”
Surprisingly, Kiely Williams of 3LW distanced herself and her bandmates from the concern on Instagram Live. She stated, “We didn’t write the song. We’re not suing Taylor Swift. We aren’t even a thing. I’m speaking for myself, but what’s right is right.”
