You read that right.
Alls fair in love and show biz, I guess?
Man.
Home boy can’t catch a break.
In all seriousness, The Hollywood Reporter and The Huffington Post are reporting that Robin Thicke has pulled out the big guns and has decided to sue Marvin Gaye‘s estate and Bridgeport Music. Pharell and T.I. have also joined in on the lawsuit, citing that although they have “the utmost respect for and admiration of Marvin Gaye, Funkadelic, and their musical legacies”, but must “reluctantly file this action in the face of multiple adverse claims from alleged successors in interest to those artists” (The Hollywood Reporter).
The accused—the Gaye family, Funkadelic, and Bridgeport—have asserted time and time again that Thicke’s song Blurred Lines is way too similar to one of their original songs, Got to Give It Up, while Funkadelic claims that Blurred Lines is really similar to Sexy Ways.
I’ll let you be the judge. Here are the videos in question below:
Blurred Lines:
Got to Give It Up:
Sexy Ways:
As for me, though I partly understand the ruckus over the song, I’m not sure I agree that this is all worth the lawsuit. It seems to me that at the most, Blurred Lines may have possibly—a huge ‘may have’ and an even bigger ‘possibly’—sampled such songs or were inspired by such songs.
Hoping this gets settled fairly quickly.
Sources: The Huffington Post, The Hollywood Reporter
Images From: Billboard.com, Lastfm.com, Metro.us
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What do you think? Is Blurred Lines a rip-off? Sound off below!