Taylor Swift was sued by Jessie Braham for using his lyrics - judge told him to Shake it Off

Taylor Swift was sued by R&B singer Jessie Braham for using lyrics from his song Haters Gone Hate into her hit Shake it Off. A US District Court judge dismissed the case today using Swift’s lyrics.

Braham claimed “92 per cent” of Shake It Off was plagiarised from his 2013 song, including phrases like “haters gonna hate” and “players gonna play”. Having found that “haters gonna hate” was already a meme before 2013, judge Gail Standish ruled:

“At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court,” Standish wrote. “But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them. As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space - one that requires Braham to do more than write his name. And, upon consideration of the Court's explanation . . . Braham may discover that mere pleading Band-Aids will not fix the bullet holes in his case. At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.”