Pop superstar Taylor Swift must face a lawsuit from songwriters who claim the Grammy-winning singer copied their lyrics in her 2014 hit single “Shake It Off,” a California judge has ruled.
In a decision issued on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald rejected Swift’s bid to throw out a suit that said she took wording from the 2014 song “Playas Gon’ Play” by R&B girl group 3LW. Fitzgerald said there were “some noticeable differences” between the songs but also “enough objective similarities” that the case should go to a jury trial.
“Although Defendants have made a strong closing argument for a jury, they have not shown that there are no genuine issues of triable fact,” the judge wrote.
A spokeswoman for Swift had no comment on Friday. In 2017, her representatives had called the songwriters’ claim of copyright infringement “ridiculous” and “nothing more than a money grab.”