If a judge is a big enough Taylor Swift fan to repeatedly quote her lyrics within a ruling, should they not be required to recuse themselves from any case involving the pop star? That's the legal conundrum we're left with after judge Gail Standish used references to at least four of Swift's hits to dismiss a plagiarism lawsuit brought against her by an R&B singer, the Guardian reports. Earlier this month, Jesse Graham—who says he hasn't had a job in nine years—sued Swift for $42 million and a songwriting credit, claiming she stole 92% of the lyrics to her hit Shake It Off from his song Haters Gone Hate, according to CNN. Graham says he copyrighted his song a year before Shake It Off was released.
Shake It Off includes the lyrics "Cause the players gonna play; and the haters gonna hate," as well as "And the fakers gonna fake," the Guardian reports. Meanwhile, the chorus to Graham's song goes "Haters gone hate; players gone play; watch out for them fakers; they'll fake you everyday." Standish said the lawsuit was based on speculation and lacked enough evidence. In her ruling, she wrote: “At present, the Court is not saying that [Graham] can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure [Graham] can solve them." After further references to Swift's lyrics, Standish concludes: "At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.” (More Taylor Swift stories.)
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