Last year, Miley Cyrus had a massive hit on her hands with “Flowers,” but now, a lawsuit is claiming that it wasn’t a fully original idea. On Monday, a suit was filed accusing Miley of copying the Bruno Mars song “When I Was Your Man,” claiming that there are too many “striking similarities” between the two songs. Interestingly enough, Bruno isn’t even the one suing Miley.
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The lawsuit was filed on Monday, September 16.
Legal documents obtained by People were filed by a company called Tempo Music Investments, which became the owner of a share of Bruno’s song when it acquired the catalog of songwriter Philip Lawrence, who is one of the songwriters who worked on “When I Was Your Man.”
In the suit, the company claims that many people have “recognized the striking similarities” between that song and Miley’s song “Flowers.”
The company claims that 'Flowers' couldn't have existed without 'When I Was Your Man.'
Because company officials believe that “Flowers” has copied “numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements,” they claim that it couldn’t possibly be a coincidence that the songs are similar.
“It is undeniable based on the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings that ‘Flowers’ would not exist without ‘When I Was Your Man,'” the lawsuit states.
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Multiple names (and even businesses) are listed as defendants in the suit.
It’s not just Miley who’s being held accountable in the suit — it’s also her co-writers Gregory Hein and Michael Pollack, plus Sony Music Publishing and Apple.
And of course, they reference Miley’s lyric “I can buy myself flowers” in comparison to Bruno’s “I should’ve bought you flowers.”
Interestingly enough, Bruno is not named in the lawsuit.
The company is making some big requests of Miley.
Not only is it seeking financial damages, but it also wants Miley and the named parties to stop distributing, reproducing, and even performing “Flowers.”
That’s a big ask — not just because it’s one of Miley’s biggest hits, but it’s also the lead track of her album, Endless Summer Vacation, which was released more than a year ago.
Miley hasn't commented publicly on the lawsuit yet.
And neither has Bruno, though he isn’t personally involved in the lawsuit.
Back in March 2023, co-writer Michael refused to comment about the similarity of the chorus to “When I Was Your Man,” but he did share that the song was inspired by another artist: Billy Joel.
“There’s an endless list of what makes Miley special as a collaborator, but one of her greatest strengths is her taste. Miley has impeccable taste,” he said at the time. “She listens to and loves such a wide breadth of music. Because of that, I don’t have to guess if something is great or not when we’re writing. If Miley says something is great, I trust her wholeheartedly.”
