Haters continue to hate, Taylor Swift just got hit with a lawsuit over “Shake It Off”

Oh no, Taylor Swift’s got some new bad blood on her hands. It appears as if someone is suing Swift, and no, they’re not just going to shake this lawsuit off without a fight. The lawsuit is all about “Shake It Off,” with the plaintiff claiming that Swift borrowed some of its famously-catchy lyrics one of his songs. Now he wants to see some cash from the 8x platinum selling single.

According to TMZ, Jessie Braham (stage name: Jessie Graham) believes that Swift “borrows heavily” from a song he wrote back in 2013. His song is called “Haters Gone Hate.” There is no denying that Swift uses the phrase “haters gonna hate” A LOT in “Shake It Off,” but it will be for a court to decide if the similarity between the two songs is strong enough to suggest plagiarism.

TMZ reports that Braham notes that phrase is used more than 70 times throughout the song, especially in the chorus. He believes Swift directly copied him, and now he’s seeking an huge payout of $42 million for her alleged plagiarism — oh, and he wants his name added to any future prints of “Shake It Off.”

That’s a lot to process and a lot to take in. But, just how similar are Braham and Swift’s songs? Braham’s song, “Haters Gone Hate” is a smooth R&B track without any sick beat (Sorry! Just saying). While he certainly sings “haters gone hate” again and again, the phrase “haters going to hate” has been around since way before Braham or Swift ever sang about it. Its entry in Urban Dictionary dates back to 2010. So can Braham really lay claim to it and make Swift pay up? Who knows, but we’ll definitely keep following this case. 

If you need to check out the comparison for yourself, listen to Braham’s song here (and if you need to listen to “Shake It Off” for the billionth time, that’s here). Do you really think Swift copied this song? Obviously that’s not for fans to decide, but I’m not sure I personally see a strong resemblance between the two.

I don’t think I’m going to hold my breath for Swift to write Braham’s name on a check’s blank space anytime soon, but we’ll have to wait and see.

(Image via Big Machine Records.)