‘Very unsettling’: Miley Cyrus may be forced to publicly reveal ‘Flowers’ lyrics are about ex Liam Hemsworth in Bruno Mars copyright case
Sources have claimed Miley Cyrus is worried about the possibility she may be forced to reveal one of her iconic songs – which she is being sued for copyright infringement over – was inspired by her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth.
Pop icon Miley Cyrus finds it “very unsettling” she may be forced to publicly reveal her best-selling global single of 2023 is about ex-husband Liam Hemsworth in a copyright infringement lawsuit, sources claim.
Tempo Music is suing Cyrus, 31, for allegedly “intentionally copying” Bruno Mars’ When I Was Your Man in the lyrics, harmony and chorus of her hit song Flowers.
An insider on Wednesday said the American is “not too concerned with the lawsuit itself”, but “is worried that she will have to reveal her inspiration for writing the song.”
“Everyone who knows Miley knows that this track was written as a way of healing from Liam,” the source told the DailyMail.com.
They said it would be “very unsettling” if the star were to reveal the hit was directly about Hemsworth in the case.
Cyrus and Hemsworth were married at a private wedding ceremony in their Nashvile home in December 2018 after a highly published on-again off-again relationship since 2009.
In August 2019, the celebrity pair announced their separation and Hemsworth filed for divorce 11 days later, citing “irreconcilable differences”.
Their split was finalised on January 28, 2020.
Mars’ lyrics read: “I should have bought you flowers and held your hand / Should have gave you all my hours when I had the chance / Take you to every party ’cause all you wanted to do was dance”.
Cyrus eerily appears to respond in Flowers: “I can take myself dancing / And I can hold my own hand / Yeah, I can love me better than you can’ to the melody of Mars’ hit.”
The insider said Cyrus does not have an issue disclosing her words were a response to those of Your Man.
They said the 32-year-old “wrote lyrics that were a reaction to Bruno’s lyrics in Your Man, specifically because that was Liam’s song to her”.
The source claimed her disco hit was not originally intended to have the same fast and upbeat melody as Mars’, saying she initially wrote it as a slower love ballad.
But, according to legal documents, Tempo Music says: “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 company are seeking damages and request Cyrus and defendants cease reproducing, distributing or publicly performing Flowers.
She has not commented on the case, in which Mars is not named as the plaintiff.
The success of Flowers saw Cyrus win her first Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2024 awards show, after it proved a mᴀssive commercial success with 2.7 billion subscription streams equivalents globally.
