Lizzo officially ‘100 per cent that bitch’, says US Trademark Office
The phrase from 2017's 'Truth Hurts' is now trademarked by the rapper
By Joe Goggins
Lizzo is officially “100 per cent that bitch”, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office, who have approved her application to trademark the phrase.
The rapper had spent years attempting to lay claim to the proclamation, which featured on her 2017 hit single ‘Truth Hurts’. After it became a sleeper hit in 2019, she applied to trademark it in order to use it in her merchandising, prompting an angry backlash from British singer Mina Lioness, who had used the phrase in a tweet months before Lizzo’s track was released.
Initially, the Patent and Trademark Office issued a routine dismissal of the application, but Lizzo has now triumphed on appeal, per Rolling Stone US, with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board saying, when ruling in favour of her, “Consumers encountering [‘100 per cent that bitch’] on the specific types of clothing identified in the application – even when offered by third parties – associate the term with Lizzo and her music.”
The initial dismissal had suggested that the phrase was not sufficiently unique for Lizzo to claim ownership of it, and also pointed to a separate controversy over ‘Truth Hurts’ that had seen her accused of plagiarism; that case was settled in March of last year after two-and-a-half years of legal wrangling.
Lizzo is now free, should she choose to, to print up a range of “100 per cent that bitch” merchandise to sell at her UK shows next month, which come as part of her first ever arena tour of the country. You can see the full dates below. Additionally, she will perform at the BRIT Awards later this month, after an appearance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (February 5).
She is nominated in five categories at the latter, for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance (for ‘About Damn Time’) and for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, for Special. At the BRITs, meanwhile, she will compete for International Artist of the Year and Best International Song, again for ‘About Damn Time’. That ceremony is scheduled for February 11.
Lizzo, March 2023:
8 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
9 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
11 – Manchester, AO Arena
15 – London, The O2 Arena
16 – London, The O2 Arena