Celebs
Katy Perry Found Guilty of Plagiarizing Christian Rap Song
Katy Perry Found Guilty of Plagiarizing Christian Rap Song
“Dark Horse” was a bit too similar to “Joyful Noise.”
July 30 2019 2:01 PM EST
July 29 2019 10:01 PM EST
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Katy Perry Found Guilty of Plagiarizing Christian Rap Song
“Dark Horse” was a bit too similar to “Joyful Noise.”
That nun who died in court during a legal battle with Katy Perry is finally getting her revenge after a jury decided that the pop star's hit song "Dark Horse" plagiarized a Christian rap song. That's a lot to take in.
On Monday, a jury unanimously ruled that "Dark Horse" sounded a bit too much like "Joyful Noise," a 2009 track by Flame, aka Marcus Gray. Gray first sued Perry in 2014, and AP reports that while many thought the verdict would come down only against the song's producers, Perry -- who only wrote the lyrics for "Dark Horse," not the beat or melody -- was found liable, alongside songwriter Sarah Hudson, producers Dr. Luke (ugh), Max Martin, and Cirkut, as well as Juicy J, whose rap verse is featured on the song.
Perry's lawyers argued that the simple structure of "Dark Horse" could be similar to many songs. "They're trying to own basic building blocks of music, the alphabet of music that should be available to everyone," said the pop star's lawyer, Christine Lepera. She argued that Perry and the production team had never heard "Joyful Noise," but the jury decided that as the song had been widely disseminated, with millions of views on YouTube, they could have heard it and copied it for "Dark Horse."
Perry testified during the trial, which must have been a nice treat for the jury. When her lawyers had technical trouble playing "Dark Horse" in the courtroom, Perry told the courtroom: "I could perform it live."
Enjoy your little jokes now Miss Perry, because when the case moves to penalty phase and the jury decides how much you need to pay up, that dead nun is really going to have the last laugh.
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