Taylor Swift on copyright claims: 'Shake It Off [was] written entirely by me'
The haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate... Taylor has hit back at copyright claims made in a 2017 lawsuit.
Taylor Swift has made it clear that she wrote the lyrics for her hit single, 'Shake It Off', herself. The 32-year-old is embroiled in a copyright lawsuit over claims she stole some of the song's lyrics.
Songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, who filed the lawsuit in 2017, say the lyrics are similar to a 2001 song they wrote for the former girl group, 3LW.
The song in question is 'Playas Gon' Play', which features the lyrics "playas gon' play" and "haters gon' hate".
Taylor's lyrics are: "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate."
But the Grammy Award winner says her song was inspired by her own life. She added that the phrases, “players gonna play” and “haters gonna hate”, were commonly used phrases when she was in school.
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Taylor went on to say that she had never even heard 3LW's song as her parents did not allow her to watch MTV’s Total Request Live.
"I co-wrote ‘Shake It Off' with Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, and Karl Johan Schuster, professionally known as Shellback, at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, in February 2014.
"We began writing the song after I discussed with Max Martin and Shellback that I wanted to write a song that would help me cope with the stresses in my life, and would also double as a song that would make people get up and dance." Taylor said in a declaration filed in court this week, according to E! News.
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Listen to 3LW's song below.
Listen to Taylor Swift's version.
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Main image credit: YouTube/ Taylor Swift ('Shake It Off' music video)