It’s bad enough that Lizzo has been accused of stealing samples for her 2016 album “Coconut Oil,” but where she allegedly stole them from has fans in disbelief.
The Grammy Award-winning performer is being sued by Orlandus Dunning, a Detroit resident and Church of God In Christ elder, who claims that the bits of audio heard at the beginning and end of the album’s titular track were secretly recorded during a funeral of a mutual relative. According to The Detroit News, Dunning is seeking $750,000 in the suit due to claims that “he suffered anguish, embarrassment and outrage” after the album’s 2016 release.
The lawsuit states that “When Plaintiff sang the devotional, it was at a private funeral and done for the specific purpose of uplifting his family and friends during their time of bereavement,” and alleges that Lizzo, whom he believes was in attendance, “recorded this audio without either (Dunning’s) knowledge or consent.” Dunning went on to contend that she “knew or should have known that portraying (Dunning) in such a light would cause him distress based on his position as an Elder in the church.”
The “Good As Hell” singer previously faced plagiarism accusations over her hit single “Truth Hurts,” when producers Justin Raisen and Jeremiah Raisen, and songwriter Justin “Yves” Rothman claimed that she stole the popular line “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100 percent that b***h,” from a prior single the group was working on together called “Healthy.”
Lizzo denied the mens’ claims and filed a lawsuit in response seeking “a judicial declaration” that the trio was not involved in the creation of “Truth Hurts” and had no entitlement to financial restitution or profit. A countersuit filed against Lizzo by the Raisen brothers and Rothman seeking royalties for the song was dismissed in August 2020.
Fans hope that the funeral audio accusations aren’t true and agree that if they are, the singer has crossed a line and should be held accountable.
“She went into the church like Big Red went to the east Compton clovers? 📹 👁 👂🏾,” one fan said referencing the cult classic film “Bring it On.”
“Church said they want they coins LOL”
“Nah she can’t be that low down 😟”
“Since when does the elder own the rights to the song she was singing”
“I wanna hear Lizzo side first lmao what happened sis 😂”
At the time of this article’s writing, Lizzo and her legal team have yet to respond to the allegations.
