Lady Gaga Could Face a Legal Battle Similar to Katy Perry After Being Accused of Stealing ‘Shallow’

Uh oh. Do we have another “Dark Horse” situation on our hands? Lady Gaga has been accused of stealing Grammy Award-winning song “Shallow” from songwriter Steve Ronsen. Gaga, 33, has refuted the claim and is not backing down without a fight.

“Lady Gaga is outraged by these ridiculous false allegations,” an insider close to the singer told In Touch. “The worlds leading musicologists found no similarities so this is nothing more than a shake down by a contingency lawyer and his client,” the source added.

On Thursday, August 8, Steve’s attorney Mark D. Shirian stated, “In an effort to amicably resolve this matter months ago, my office provided Lady Gaga’s legal team, at their request, with an official report from a renowned and respected musicologist and professor who determined that there are significant tempo, melodic, rhythmic and harmonic similarities between the two ‘hooks’ of the songs at issue.” He continued, “Lady Gaga’s team has yet to provide my office with an opposing musicologist report, which we have requested multiple times.” Comparable to the recent copyright infringement case against Katy Perry for her song “Dark Horse,” Gaga could face a lawsuit for similar pretenses.

Deal of the Day

Only $12! — (And No One Will Know They Aren’t Designer) View Deal

The composer believes that Gaga copied a three-note progression from his 2012 song “Almost” for her duet with Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born. Despite the claim, the source disclosed that multiple musicologists reviewed the two songs and found no material similarities. The insider adds that the melodic combination is “common” and can be heard in tracks “from centuries ago.”

“Mr. Ronsen and his lawyer are trying to make easy money off the back of a successful artist. It is shameful and wrong,” Gaga’s lawyer Orin Snyder said against the allegations to Us Weekly. “I applaud Lady Gaga for having the courage and integrity to stand up on behalf of successful artists who find themselves on the receiving end of such [claims]. Should Mr. Shirian proceed with this case, Lady Gaga will fight it vigorously and will prevail.”

Snyder further refuted Shirian’s claim they were not supplied with a musicologist report. He said, “We provided Mr. Shirian a lengthy letter with the findings of multiple leading musicologists, each of whom found no actionable similarities between the two songs. Even Shirian’s own musicologist acknowledged the generic three-note progression is present in many other songs predating his client’s song.”