TORONTO — Several Christian hip hop musicians have sued Katy Perry and Canadian songwriter Henry Walter, claiming Perry’s hit “Dark Horse” is a rip-off of the 2008 Flame song “Joyful Noise.”
The plaintiffs also claim their song has been “irreparably tarnished by its association with the witchcraft, paganism, black magic, and Illuminati imagery evoked by the same music in ‘Dark Horse.'”
Marcus Gray, Chike Ojukwu, Lecrae Moore and Emanuel Lambert filed suit this week in U.S. federal court in Missouri against Perry, Walter and co-songwriters Jordan Houston, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin and Sarah Theresa Hudson.
Walter is a Nova Scotia native who was based in Toronto until moving to Los Angeles. He has co-written hits for artists like Miley Cyrus, Kesha, Cody Simpson, The Wanted, Britney Spears and Robin Thicke.
Walter helped create seven songs for Perry’s album Prism, including “Dark Horse.”
The lawsuit alleges Perry’s 2013 hit infringes on the copyright of , which was written in 2007 and earned a 2008 Gospel Music Association Dove Award nomination for best rap song.
On YouTube, “Joyful Noise” has had 2.8 million views.
“Dark Horse” has sold in excess of 6 million copies and the video for the song has been viewed 440 million times.
Perry, whose parents are Pentecostal pastors, released a Christian rock and gospel record in 2001 under her real name, Katy Hudson.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
BELOW: Compare the two songs for yourself.
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