Lizzo Accused Of Stealing "DNA Test" From Twitter

Lizzo's having one of the biggest weeks of her career. She stole at this year's VMAs with the help of a giant inflatable ass, received heaps of praise from none other than Rihanna and, curiously, moved to trademark the line "100% that bitch" for a new line of merch.

However, that last one comes with a bit of asterisk. Lizzo's decision to trademark the line is the latest move in the hotly contested rights of ownership over the line. In February 2017, Twitter user @MinaLioness tweeted, "I did a DNA test and found out I'm 100% that bitch." Seven months later, Lizzo released the song "Truth Hurts," which featured the now extremely meme'd line "I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100% that bitch." So who owns the rights to the line?

I did a DNA test and found out I'm 100% that bitch.

— rt. hon. home secretaryina (@MinaLioness) February 25, 2017

If you ask @MinaLioness, the answer is clear. Over the next two years, she's waged online warfare against Lizzo, claiming that the flute-playing body-positivity icon stole the line for lyrics. The two even got into words about the authorship question on Twitter, with Lizzo admitting that she was inspired by a meme -- though, not explicitly @MinaLioness' tweet -- to write the song in June 2017.

Lizzo seemed to have moved on from the argument, stating that this either a case of parallel thought or she just took it from a meme but not the tweet. She said, in a particularly confusing tweet, "I give that meme credit when I talk about making the song. I’ve never seen ur viral tweet but I’m glad it exists."

That hasn't stopped @MinaLioness for staking her claim. Earlier this month, she tweeted the origins of her inital tweet, claiming that she was simply parodying Demi Lovato's tweet about a DNA test.

The story of the “100% that Bitch tweet” came from me making jokes about Demi Lovato saying she took a DNA test and found out she’s 1% African. pic.twitter.com/DvQIoJeCzA

— rt. hon. home secretaryina (@MinaLioness) August 11, 2019

Things didn't end there. After news of the 100% That Bitch merch line, @MinaLioness continued to vent to her followers on Twitter, criticizing Lizzo and her team of "ignoring" her claim. She writes, "They’re doing it because they know I have no capital to address her. I’m just the poor Black girl from London that don’t have a dog in the fight."

If she thought I had the autonomy to truly challenge her and assert my rights.. She would have been given me my writers credit. She could of rode this tweet till the wheels fell off. I would have supported through and through as long as I was credited.

— rt. hon. home secretaryina (@MinaLioness) August 28, 2019

The whole situation seems very reminiscent of the case of Peaches Monroe, who in 2017 attempted to trademark the phrase "on fleek", which popularized in a 2014 Vine. However, despite her attempts to trademark "on fleek," after receiving none of the money from the phrase's initial success, the damage had already been done.

Meme ownership can be tricky business. In a world of constant sharing and no accountability, proving a meme's ownership can come down to a question of who has the means to capitalize earliest, which usually means who has the most money and strongest legal defense.