A woman suing Taylor Swift for alleged copyright infringement referenced several celebrities in her lawsuit.
Why It Matters
Kimberly Marasco, a Florida artist, filed the lawsuit against Swift, songwriters Jack Antonoff and Aaron Desner, Universal Music Group, Inc. and Republic Records in February.
This is the second time Marasco has sued Swift for copyright infringement. Last year, she filed a lawsuit against Swift and Taylor Swift Productions. While Swift was later dismissed from the lawsuit, the claims against Taylor Swift Productions have not been dropped.
What To Know
Besides Swift, Antonoff and Dessner, the celebrities named in the lawsuit are not facing legal action in this case. The celebrities are mainly mentioned in reference to their creative works.
Taylor Swift
Marasco first sued Swift in April 2024. Marasco argued that Swift’s songs and music videos have “creative elements” that copy Marasco’s work without authorization or credit.
The complaint mentions several songs and videos from Swift’s albums Lover, Folklore, Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department.
Entertainer Taylor Swift arrives before a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans on December 21, 2024.
AP Photo/Peter Aiken
Jack Antonoff
Antonoff was added as a defendant in Marasco’s second lawsuit.
Antonoff collaborated with Swift on several songs featured in the new complaint, including “Illicit Affairs” from Folklore and “Down Bad” from The Tortured Poets Department.
Aaron Dessner
The second complaint named Dessner as a defendant. He worked with Swift on multiple songs allegedly copied, including “Hoax” from Folklore and “Death by a Thousand Cuts” from Lover.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé is not a defendant in the lawsuit, but Marasco mentions one of her songs.
Marasco alleged that Swift’s “The Man” contains original expressions from the plaintiff’s poem “Ordinary Citizen.” Marasco noted that defense attorneys previously compared a verse of “Ordinary Citizen” to Beyoncé’s “If I Were a Boy.”
“However, Beyonce is describing a boy in the world (not in an office setting) and how the boy should be more compassionate toward females,” Marasco wrote. “This is a completely different context and does not contain any similarities and doesn’t use any of the same unique expressions as the Plaintiff wrote.”
Chaka Khan
According to Marasco, defense attorneys also compared the poem to Chaka Khan’s “A Woman in a Man’s World.”
The song’s lyrics include, “In a dog-eat-dog, show-biz town,” which refers to the entertainment industry and “how she has a dream but that others drag her down because she is in a Man’s world.”
Marasco said there are no similar expressions in Chaka Khan’s song and her poem.
Elon Musk
Marasco mentions a poem she wrote about Department of Government Efficiency head Musk in her lawsuit.
Marasco posted a poem on X (formerly Twitter) titled “Elon=MC2,” which she said referred to “Elon being a genius.”
The lawsuit compared Marasco’s poem to the lyric in Swift’s song “Mastermind”: “To assess the equation of you.”
Marasco said describing a person as a mathematical equation is “eerily similar to the expression by the Plaintiff referring to Elon Musk” as an equation.
Brad Paisley
Country singer Brad Paisley is referenced in the lawsuit’s discussion of Swift’s song “Midnight Rain.” Marasco alleged that Swift’s song copied “Delusional Reality,’ a poem by the plaintiff.
Defense attorneys previously compared Marasco’s poem to Paisley’s song “Perfect Storm.” Marasco said the two works “differ in context.”
“Paisley describes how his lover has both good and bad qualities and thus relates her with a storm and sunshine,” Marasco wrote. “This is not the same expression conveyed by the Plaintiff where she refers to being consumed by her own storm.”
Elton John
Elton John’s work is also mentioned in the lawsuit. The defense previously compared Marasco’s poems to “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John. Marasco said the song is “completely different” from her works.
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian is not mentioned in the lawsuit, but an accompanying exhibit mentions her.
The exhibit discussed Swift’s song “thanK you aIMee.” Fans have theorized that the song is about Kardashian due to the capitalization pattern in the song’s title.
Marasco disputes this theory by pointing to the lyric, “A song that only us two is gonna know is about you.”
“If only a few people will know who she is referring to, then obviously it cannot be solely about Kim K,” the exhibit stated.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is also not named in the lawsuit but is featured in an exhibit.
Marasco alleged that Lady Gaga made a pose “strikingly similar” to a sketch Marasco used on the cover of one of her books. Marasco said the evidence shows that the music industry was aware of her book.
What People Are Saying
Kimberly Marasco, in a complaint: “As a direct and/or proximate result of the Defendants’ wrongful conduct, the Plaintiff has been irreparably harmed. Said injuries are continuing and will not abate in the future. Such reproduction and release were wholly unauthorized as it was without any license or consent of authority from the Plaintiff.”
What Happens Next
All defendants except Swift have been successfully served with the lawsuit. Judge Aileen Cannon ordered the defendants to wait to respond until everyone had been served.
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