Lizzo has settled a copyright lawsuit over an unreleased song that mocked Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle advert. The claim was filed by Georgia-based GRC Trust, which controls the rights to Sam Dees’ 1970 song Win or Lose (We Tried).
The dispute began in 2025 after Lizzo shared a short music clip on social media. The snippet contained a lyric referencing Sweeney’s jeans campaign. American Eagle launched the advert in July 2025 under the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” The campaign used wordplay between “jeans” and “genes” and quickly spread across social platforms.
The Lyric That Triggered The Case
In the video, Lizzo appeared washing a Porsche while wearing a denim top. The clip featured a lyric from the track Going Til October. She rapped: “No kizzy, he ain’t got no business being with me. I look good, my body stands out. I got good jeans like I’m Sydney.” The song never appeared on streaming services or any formal release.
The trust argued that online posting amounted to public release. Its lawyers stated, “It is antiquated to claim that a song is not ‘released’ when it is streamed through TikTok, one of the largest musical platforms in the world to the public.” The filing maintained that the exposure carried value even without commercial distribution.
Case Ends Without Public Terms
Lizzo’s legal team rejected that position, stating, “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”. The defence argued that profit could not be proven from a brief social media clip.
Court records confirm that the agreement resolves all claims in the action. The settlement terms remain private.
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