Miley Cyrus accused in new lawsuit of copying Bruno Mars' “Flowers”

Once again, Miley Cyrus is facing a new lawsuit for alleged copyright infringement. This time, her 2023 hit “Flowers” is said to have intentionally copied elements from Bruno Mars' 2012 song “When I Was Your Man.” Yuck.

Notably, the lawsuit was filed by Tempo Music Investments, which claims to own a share of the copyright to Mars' song, but Mars himself is not listed as a plaintiff.

Okay, according to the lawsuit, Tempo Music Investments claims that “Flowers” derives melody, harmony and chord progressions from “When I Was Your Man.” The company argues, “Due to the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings, it is undeniable that 'Flowers' would not exist without 'When I Was Your Man.'” They are seeking unspecified damages and also requesting that Cyrus be prohibited from performing or distributing “Flowers” in the future.

As for Cyrus, the pop star has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit, and neither representatives for Cyrus nor Mars have commented.

Furthermore, this lawsuit marks the fourth time Cyrus has faced allegations of copyright infringement. In March 2018, Jamaican artist Michael May, known as Flourgon, claimed that Cyrus' 2013 song “We Can't Stop” used similar lyrics to his 1988 song “We Run Things.” May claimed that the song “misappropriated” his “musical composition/lyrical phrase” and sought $300 million in damages. The case was eventually settled out of court in 2020.

Back in September 2018, Ariella Asher, known as Yella the Triple Threat, filed another lawsuit against Cyrus and Universal Music, claiming that the song “23” by Mike Will Made It, which Cyrus featured in, contained an “infringing composition” based on her 2012 song “J's On My Feet.” That lawsuit was dropped two months later, in November 2018.

But wait, Cyrus was also sued by photographer Robert Barbera in September 2022 after she posted a photo of herself on Instagram. Barbera argued that Cyrus did not own the rights to the image and that her sharing it with her large Instagram following “crippled, if not destroyed, the market potential for Plaintiff's photograph.” That lawsuit was settled in October 2022 and dismissed “with prejudice,” preventing Barbera from re-filing the lawsuit in the same court.

It looks like the legal fees are piling up.