Rapper Juice WRLD Sued for an INSANE Amount, Here’s What the Lawsuit Is About

Celeb JusticeNovember 18, 2019

Celebrities suing other A-listers for copyright infringement is not uncommon these days. Many demand monetary compensation up to millions of dollars from those who copy their work without asking for permission.

Recently, the now-defunct band Yellowcard hit Juice WRLD, or Jarad A. Higgins in real life, with a $15-million lawsuit for allegedly copying some parts in the former’s 2006 hit.

Specifically, the disbanded group, consisting of Longineu Warren Parsons, Peter Michael Mosely, Sean Michael Wellman-Mackin, and William Ryan Key, is seeking millions of dollars in damages as well as ownership share and royalty for the rapper’s 2018 track Lucid Dreams.

Yellowcard said Juice WRLD and his team stole melodic sections of the 2006 song Holly Wood Died without asking for permission.

Yellowcard is also claiming they are entitled to some of the profits from the tours, concerts, and appearances made by Juice WRLD since Lucid Dreams was highly successful, so much so that it single-handedly catapulted him to stardom.

As per the documents, the defendants exploited parts of the original work, which, the plaintiffs said, were very obvious for a listener. They also claimed that the two songs contained many other identical elements.

Proof of Evidence

To support this claim, Yellowcard, which disbanded in 2016, provided a table that contained the similar components of the songs, like the hooks and melisma. Because of the unmissable resemblance, the plaintiffs argue that this couldn’t be a mere coincidence.

As per Richard Busch, the camp’s lawyer, the band members didn’t want this to turn into a lawsuit – in fact, they even contacted Juice WRLD and his team regarding the matter. However, they didn’t hear back from them.

Yellowcard disbanded in 2016

For the Crush

Another evidence of the allegations was the supposed link between Yellowcard and the 20-year-old artist – as per the complaint, the defendant made clear of his fondness of the emo pop-rock genre, similar to what the band produced. The plaintiffs also noted one specific interview of Juice WRLD, wherein he revealed he listened to this music genre with his crush when he was in Grade 5.

Yellowcard analyzed the year when Juice WRLD would have been in fifth grade, which is probably around 2006, coincidentally the time when the Ocean Avenue hitmakers released Holly Wood Died under the Lights and Sounds album.

Juice WRLD expressed that he liked Fall Out Boy

Furthermore, Yellowcard also pointed out that Juice WRLD admitted to being a fan of Fall Out Boy and its album, From Under the Cork Tree, which was launched in 2005, a few months till Lights and Sounds came to light.

Both albums were produced by Neal Avron. So, the plaintiffs concluded that because the accused admired the album from the band whose members include Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley, Joe Trohman, and Patrick Stump, this could have led him to listen to the other album as well.

Similar Lawsuits

Some parts of Katy Perry’s Dark Horse were ruled to violate the copyright infringement law

As mentioned, the rapper is barely the first to have faced such a lawsuit. Katy Perry and her team had to pay $2.78 million to Flame, a Christian rapper, who sued the pop singer for copying elements from his Joyful Noise masterpiece to use in the 2013 hit, Dark Horse.