Taylor Swift sued by R&B singer over ‘Shake It Off’ lyrics [Watch Video]

Taylor Swift appears to be trapped in a series of legal troubles lately. The American singer has been sued for US$42 million (AU$ 58.81 million) by R&B singer Jesse Graham for allegedly stealing the lyrics of her hit track “Shake It Off” from one of his creations.

Graham has accused Swift for allegedly stealing the lyrics of “Shake It Off” from his creation “Haters Gone Hate” that he wrote in 2013. Graham has not only sought monetary compensation but also wants to be accredited as a writer on the track.

Graham has claimed that he has a copyright ownership of the phrases "Haters Gone Hate" and "Playas Gone Play." These phrases have been repeatedly used in the chorus of Swift’s creation “Shake It Off.” The lyrics of Swift’s track actually has a very small part that is similar to the R&B singer’s track. Excerpt from Taylor’s track are: "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/ And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake."

The aforementioned song by Graham goes like this: “Haters gone hater, playas gone play/ Watch out for them fakers, they'll fake you everyday,” according to BBC.

Swift released her fifth studio album “Shake It Off” in 2014 and it climbed the top of several music charts throughout the world. The hit track even went on to win the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year.

"Her hook is the same hook as mine," Graham told the New York Daily News on Saturday, claiming Swift uses it about 72 times in her song. "If I didn't write the song 'Haters Gone Hate,' there wouldn't be a song called 'Shake It Off,'" Graham added.

Prior to the lawsuit, Graham only sought the credit as a writer on the track and made a request to Swift to take a selfie with him. However, it was only after the “Bad Blood” singer’s team turned down the demands and claims by Graham that he decided to drag Swift to the courtroom.

Nothing yet has been confirmed officially on this issue by Swift’s representatives.

Jesse Graham’s “Haters Gone Hate”