Taylor Swift targeted in $42m ‘Shake it off’ claim

Musician Taylor Swift has been targeted in a $42 million lawsuit over allegations that her 2014 hit song “Shake it off” infringed copyright. 

Singer Jesse Braham sued Swift at a US district court over the alleged lyrical similarities between his 2013 song “Haters gone hate” and Swift’s track. 

Braham, who operates under the name Jesse Graham, claimed that Swift’s use of the phrases “haters gonna hate” and “players gonna play” infringed his work. 

Initially, he sought a writing credit on the song, but Swift apparently rejected the request. 

“Her hook is the same hook as mine. If I didn’t write the song ‘Haters gone hate’, there wouldn’t be a song called ‘Shake it off’,” Braham told the New York Daily News. 

“At first I was going to let it go, but this song is my song all the way,” he added. 

The 2014 song was released as part of Swift’s “1989” album, and was nominated for the record of the year at the 2015 Grammy Awards.