I am disappointed. Katy Perry is being sued because, it is alleged, she “borrowed” for her song “Dark Horse” from a OMG do I hate to write this CHRISTIAN RAP SONG.
It’s news like this that shoves reality in my face: I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse,” or any other Katy Perry song for that matter, and I never grasped that in the world of rap there was a sub-category called “Christian.” (But hey I never knew there was a massive chain of Christian stores called Hobby Lobby, either. I’m just not up with contemporary Christianity and its fight to be free of humane laws by using those laws for its own advantage. So confusing.)
So here you go: Lawsuit Claims Katy Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ Borrows From Christian Rap Song – NYTimes.com. The absurd story (which I could link to both The god Problem and Global War Against Women categories) begins sorta like this:
Katy Perry, who will perform at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, may be making an appearance at a courthouse in St. Louis sometime soon. The Christian rapper Flame, who was born Marcus Gray, and three of his associates — Chike Ojukwu, Emanuel Lamber and Lecrae Moore, the co-creators of Flame’s 2008 song “Joyful Noise,” — filed a lawsuit against Ms. Perry and her label, Capitol Records, and others in federal court in St. Louis on Tuesday, charging that Ms. Perry used “Joyful Noise” without permission in her 2013 recording, “Dark Horse,” Courthouse News Service reported.
The lawsuit, beyond charging Ms. Perry with copyright infringement, offers a religious criticism of “Dark Horse,” saying that “the devoutly religious message of ‘Joyful Noise’ has been irreparably tarnished by its association with the witchcraft, paganism, black magic and Illuminati imagery evoked by the same music in ‘Dark Horse.’” The suit notes that the song – or, actually, an image used in its video clip – offended Muslims shortly after it was released in 2013.
I emphasized the “irreparably tarnished” business because it is laughably insane (Illuminati????) and I’m wondering if that’s the point these characters will be taking into court with them.
And then there’s Lindsay Lohan’s problem, as with gratifying terseness Allan Kozinn lays out in the New York Times:
Have you ever played Grand Theft Auto V and thought that the minor character Lacey Jonas – a young startlet whom players rescue from pursuing paparazzi – seemed oddly like Lindsay Lohan? Jonas is a slinky blonde, like Ms. Lohan, and some players have noted that she sounds like Ms. Lohan, has a line of clothing like Ms. Lohan’s and has a penchant for complaining about the difficulties of being a star. The game also shows the Chateau Marmont, the West Hollywood hotel where Ms. Lohan racked up a bill of $46,000.
At any rate, Ms. Lohan sees a similarity too, and on Wednesday, she filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against the game’s makers, Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, Reuters reported. In the suit, she complains that the companies used her likeness without her permission, or compensation, and that the game violated her right to privacy. She is seeking damages to be determined by the court. The game, which was released last September, reportedly brought in $800 million in first-day sales.
I am a bit disgruntled. Although I have heard of Lohan, I have never heard of or played Grand Theft Auto and the photo accompanying this item doesn’t look anything like the Lindsay Lohan image I’ve seen when I peruse gossip columns. And then I had to make up a tag for this item: “theft of image” which I do not expect I will ever have to use again.