Lizzo Accused of Copying CeCe Peniston’s “Finally”

Another artist is claiming Lizzo copied their work.

CeCe Peniston, a 90s singer, says Lizzo’s hit track “Juice” takes ad-libs from her 1992 song, “Finally.”

Peniston took to Instagram with a video showing the two songs side-by-side and wrote: “this is a clear example of #copyrightinfringement. Cece Peniston versus @lizzobeeating, y’all check this out and btw I love her music.”

The ’90s artist is directly referencing the “ya ya ee” ad-lib Lizzo uses in her song: “Gotta blame it on my juice/Ya-ya-ee, ya-ya-ee, ya-ya-ee, ya-ya-ee.”

People seem to agree with Peniston’s accusation. Even India Arie commented on the Instagram post: “I thought she interpolated it intentionally and paid you for it. I hate that ANY one would not automatically KNOW this IS a signature of yours. Clearly. But as musicians i guess we hear it more clearly.”

Peniston explained her side on Instagram Wednesday, noting that “anytime anybody uses a song over 7 seconds thats using a “portion” of their copyright.” She claims that Lizzo “not only takes over that, she’s used several times adding up to about 40 seconds.”

She’s the third person to come forward with allegations against Lizzo of plagiarism. Songwriter and producer Justin Raisen accused the singer of lifting lyrics as well. Raisen’s chief complaint stems from “Truth Hurts'” opening line: “I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100 percent that bitch.” He alleges that he wrote a single called “Healthy” with Lizzo back in 2017, and compares that track to Lizzo’s hit.

Mina Lioness, a singer from the UK, actually claims the rights to the opening line, accusing Lizzo of taking it from her.

Lizzo’s lawyer, Cynthia Arato, wrote a statement denying all claims of plagiarism.

“Although it has become all too commonplace for successful artists to be subjected to these type of opportunistic claims, it is nevertheless disappointing that after all of her hard work, Lizzo has to respond to this specious claim,” she said.