Taylor Swift has rejected a copyright infringement lawsuit, which was filed on Monday by two songwriters over her hit song Shake It Off.
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, Sean Hall and Nathan Butler slammed the singer for using the phrase “players, they gonna play, and haters, they gonna hate” – and alleged that it was stolen from their 2001 song Playas Gon’ Play by R&B girl group 3LW.
The lyric in Shake It Off goes, “The players gonna play, play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”
The songwriters are seeking an undisclosed amount in damages, and a jury trial.
However, representatives for Taylor dismissed the lawsuit in a statement by writing, “This is a ridiculous claim and nothing more than a money grab. The law is simple and clear. They do not have a case.”
In the lawsuit, it said, “In 2001 it was completely original and unique. Indeed, the combination had not been used in popular culture prior.”
They’ve also alleged that Taylor and her team “undoubtedly had access to Playas Gon’ Play before writing and releasing her song. Defendant Swift has admitted that she watched MTV’s TRL which promoted Playas Gon’ Play.”
Sean Hall and Nathan Butler claim that the phrase accounts for about 20% of the lyrics in Shake It Off.
