Lizzo hit with lawsuit for copyright infringement

October 23, 2025 – Radio 854 Music News:

Pop icon Lizzo has found herself in legal hot water yet again — this time over a yet-to-be-released song that allegedly uses a decades-old composition without permission.

What’s the claim?

According to court documents filed in Los Angeles on 21 October 2025, the rights-holder GRC Trust (based in Georgia) alleges that Lizzo’s unreleased track — tentatively titled “I’m Goin’ In Till October” — incorporates instrumental and vocal elements from the 1970s soul ballad Win or Lose (We Tried), originally written by Sam Dees and published via Jimmy Ginn.

The dispute centres on a social-media snippet Lizzo posted in August 2025: footage of her in denim, quipping “B****, I got good jeans like I’m Sydney” (a reference to Sydney Sweeney’s campaign for American Eagle) — and in that clip the plaintiff claims the borrowed elements appeared.

Legal demands & Lizzo’s response

GRC Trust is seeking:

• A permanent injunction to prevent further distribution of the song.

• An account of profits and/or losses tied to the alleged infringement.

In response, Lizzo’s representatives issued a statement:

“We are surprised that the GRC Trust filed this lawsuit. To be clear, the song has never been commercially released or monetised, and no decision has been made at this time regarding any future commercial release of the song.”

Why this matters

• The case is notable because the song in question has not yet been commercially released, yet the rights-holder argues that even a 13-second social-media posting suffices to trigger liability.

• It adds to a pattern of legal challenges Lizzo has faced regarding authorship and copyright. For example, her smash hit Truth Hurts was previously the subject of claims over a lyric and melody.

• The outcome may have implications for how artists and labels handle pre-release teasers on social media, particularly when they sample or interpolate older works without clearance.

akeaway for Radio 854 listeners

For our audience at Radio 854, this story is a reminder of how complex and high-stakes the music-rights environment now is—even for snippets that never hit commercial release. It also highlights:

• The importance of clearing samples and interpolations — even for a teaser clip.

• The evolving nature of artist liability: posting a short clip on social media may carry legal risk.

• For fans: while Lizzo continues to create and release music, this case may delay or impact how this particular track is rolled out — if at all.

We’ll keep an eye on how this plays out: whether it settles quickly, is dismissed, or proceeds to a full hearing. If you’re interested, we’ll update with any developments.