GloRilla Seeks Dismissal of Copyright Lawsuit Over “No BBL” โLyric
Rapper GloRilla, along with UMG โRecordings, Warner Chappell Music, and BMG Rights โManagement, is โขrequesting a federal court in Louisiana dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed by Natalie Henderson (also known as Slimdabodylast), alleges GloRilla’s song “Never โคFind” unlawfully used a phrase popularized by Henderson’s earlier track, “All Natural.”
Henderson claims her song, released in early 2024, gained online attention for itsโ celebration of โnatural โbodies and featured the lyrics “all naturale, โคno BBL.” She asserts GloRilla’s lyric – “Natural, no BBL, but I’m โstill gon’ give them hell” – is substantially similar and โhas resulted in financial โgain for GloRilla and her collaborators.
GloRilla’s defense centers on several arguments. First,they contend henderson โcannot demonstrate thatโข glorillaโ had access to “All Natural.” The legal team argues simply posting a song online doesn’t meet the required legal standard for proving access,which typically necessitates evidence of widespread distribution or commercial successโ – factorsโ they claim are absent in Henderson’s case.
Furthermore,โข the defense disputes the claim of substantial similarity. They highlight thatโข Henderson’sโ phrase functions as a repeating hook, whileโข GloRilla’s line appears only once within aโข different lyrical context and utilizes aโ distinct rhyme scheme. The lawyers also point to the common usage of phrases like “give them hell” in music, arguing they don’t constitute copyrightable copying.
GloRilla’s teamโค also challenges Henderson’s claims for damages, questioning her ability to pursue both statutoryโ and actual damagesโ without proving sufficient infringement to warrant an injunction. They further argue that phrases celebrating natural bodies โคare prevalent in recent music and lack the necessary โoriginality for โcopyright protection.
Theโฃ motion to dismiss asserts that viral phrases, irrespective of their popularity, cannot automatically be considered intellectual property, and โrequests the court to dismiss the case entirely.
