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Lizzo attends the 2025 GQ Men Of The Year party
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Key Takeaways:
- Lizzo reached a settlement in a copyright lawsuit involving her unreleased song that mentioned Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle advertisement.
- The lawsuit claimed Lizzo used elements from “Win or Lose (We Tried),” seemingly by soul singer Sam Dees.
- The case underscores how even unreleased or snippet-based tracks can trigger copyright claims in the age of viral content.
Lizzo has chosen to settle the copyright lawsuit tied to “I’m Goin’ Til October,” her unreleased song poking fun at Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad.
On Monday (Jan. 12), Rolling Stone reported that GRC Trust and the Grammy Award-winning artist have agreed to a “settlement in principle.” The suit, filed in October 2025, claimed she used “both instrumental and vocal elements” from a song titled “Win or Lose (We Tried),” presumably by soul singer Sam Dees.
“No kizzy, he ain’t got no business being with me / Fat a**, pretty face with the titties / B**ch, I got good genes, like I’m Sydney,” she rapped in the since-deleted video, which saw her hosing down a red Porsche.
The Georgia-based company also sought “damages and an injunction blocking the exploitation of its song.” While the settlement terms were not disclosed, GRC Trust’s lawyers told the publication they plan to “file a dismissal of the case with prejudice” within the next 60 days.
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Lizzo attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City
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It was a really interesting case, mainly because Lizzo never released — or announced her intentions to release — the song on streaming platforms. However, as Rap-Up noted in its initial coverage of the lawsuit, snippets aren’t automatically exempt from copyright law.
“We are surprised that the GRC Trust filed this lawsuit,” the “Rumors” artist’s representatives said at the time. “To be clear, the song has never been commercially released or monetized, and no decision has been made at this time regarding any future commercial release of the song.”
Just last week, Lizzo confirmed she’ll make her Houston Rodeo debut on March 6 for Black Heritage Day. “Last time we tried this, it was March 2020, and I think y’all know what happened then,” she said in a post shared on Instagram. “But that’s the funny thing about second chances: a b**ch gonna always bounce back.”
On the music side, she’s still coasting off the success of MY FACE HURTS FROM SMILING, which dropped its deluxe edition last September. The LP delivered “YITTY ON YO TITTYS (FREESTYLE)” as well as collaborations with SZA and Doja Cat.
