Originally appeared on E! Online
Miley Cyrus isn’t giving any of her hours to this plagiarism allegation.
After Tempo Music Investments, which partially owns the copyright to “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars, sued the Disney alum and her co writers for allegedly plagiarizing the track in her Grammy-winning song “Flowers,” Cyrus' team has filed for the case’s dismissal.
In documents submitted Nov. 20 and obtained by E! News, legal representation for Cyrus, co writers Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack, Sony Music, as well as other companies attached to the song allege that the complaint filed by Tempo, lacks “information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the allegations,” and therefore, deny all allegations made in the original filing, pertaining to copyright infringement.
The response further alleges that Cyrus and her co defendants are not required to submit an answer based on the aforementioned lack of information in the original filing. As they note that the original allegations in Tempo’s filing “consist of legal conclusions to which no response is required.”
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Due to the lack of evidence, the legal team representing Cyrus is requesting the lawsuit be “dismissed with prejudice,” adding that Tempo will cover the legal costs and “further relief as the Court deems proper.”
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Cyrus' response comes two months after Tempo filed the lawsuit Sept. 16.
“Any fan of Bruno Mars’ ‘When I Was Your Man’ knows that Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ did not achieve all of that success on its own," the original filing’s documents, obtained by E! News, alleged. “‘Flowers' duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements of 'When I Was Your Man,' including the melodic pitch design and sequence of the verse, the connecting bass-line, certain bars of the chorus, certain theatrical music elements, lyric elements, and specific chord progressions.”
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The documents further argue that it is “undeniable” that Miley’s Best Pop Solo Performance Grammy win “would not exist” without Mars' 2012 song, which also received a nomination in the same category at the 2013 Grammys (“Royals” by Lorde took the win).
Cyrus' “Flowers” sat on the top of the Billboard charts for a combined 106 weeks after its January 2023 release, with eight being on the Hot 100. In addition to its chart success, it also earned her two Grammy wins, her first ever after only one prior nomination.
And while the success of “Flowers” is a first for her, Cyrus previously spoke out about her lack of recognition by the Recording Academy prior to 2023.
“No shade, but I've been doing this for 20 years, and this is my first time actually being taken seriously at the Grammys?" Cyrus incredulously asked in a W magazine interview in June. “I've had a hard time figuring out what the measurement is there, because if we want to talk stats and numbers, then where the f--k was I? And if you want to talk, like, impact on culture, then where the f--k was I?”
She emphasized, “This is not about arrogance. I am proud of myself."
