Miley Cyrus is worried she will have to “publicly reveal” that her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth is the “inspiration” behind her 2023 song Flowers after being sued for copyright infringement.
The 31-year-old pop star has been hit with a lawsuit accusing her of copying Bruno Mars’ 2012 hit When I Was Your Man, which topped pop charts around the world.
But sources close to the pair have exclusively told DailyMail.com that the former Hannah Montana star is not too concerned about the lawsuit itself, but will find it “unsettling” if she is forced to confirm the song was about her ex, years after fans claimed the song was a response to his rumoured infidelity.
“Miley isn’t too concerned about the lawsuit itself, but everyone who knows Miley knows this song was written as a way for her to heal from Liam,” the source said.
Miley got engaged to Liam in May 2012, but they split in September 2013, before reuniting in 2016.
Miley Cyrus is worried about having to “publicly reveal” that her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth is the “inspiration” behind her song Flowers, sources close to the song have told DailyMail.com
The 31-year-old singer will feel “unsettling” if she is forced to confirm that the song was actually aimed at her ex (pictured together in 2019)
The couple married in December 2018 and their divorce was finalized in January 2020.
Liam reportedly dedicated Bruno’s song to Miley in 2013, and is said to have often mentioned her during their relationship.
It was later claimed that The Witcher actor also played the song at the couple’s wedding.
The source continued: ‘She wrote lyrics that were a reaction to Bruno’s lyrics in Your Man, specifically because that was Liam’s song for her. She just cared that he knew it was for him.
‘Miley originally wrote it as a slow love ballad, not the fast, upbeat song it became.’
The Grammy winner is said to be looking forward to having to make confessions about the song “on the record.”
“She’s worried about having to reveal what inspired her to write the song,” the source continued. “While she has no problem claiming it was a response to Bruno, revealing it was specifically about Liam publicly and on record is very unsettling.”
The pop star, who has yet to comment on the lawsuit, is said to be waiting to see what happens next.
The chorus of Flowers includes a sample of Bruno Mars’ 2012 hit When I Was Your Man, which Liam once reportedly dedicated to Miley.
Tempo Music, which claims to own part of Bruno’s copyright, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the singer (Miley appears in the Flowers video)
“Right now, he’s just watching this play out and hoping it gets dismissed before any of that becomes a real possibility,” the source said.
The source also claimed that Miley didn’t focus on the similarities between the two songs when she first released her single because she was “so focused on making these disses to Liam for their alleged affair and it overshadowed everything else.”
The original song, about regret after losing a romantic partner, has lyrics that include: ‘I should have bought you flowers and held your hand / I should have given you all my hours when I had the chance / Took you to all the parties ’cause all you wanted to do was dance.’
Flipping the script, Miley sings, ‘I can dance by myself / And I can hold my own hand / Yeah, I can love myself better than you can’ to the tune of Mars’ hit.
“I can dance myself” likely refers to an infamous red carpet moment when Liam visibly cringed at Miley’s twerking.
Elsewhere, Miley references her house with Liam in Malibu burning down, singing: ‘We were good, we were gold / Some kind of dream that can’t be sold / We were right ’til we weren’t / We built a house and watched it burn.’
Fans also pointed out that the music video was riddled with Easter eggs referencing her relationship with Liam, such as being filmed in the house where the actor allegedly cheated on her.
Miley fans had previously highlighted the song’s lyrical and compositional similarity to Bruno’s hit.
Miley released the single and music video on January 13, her ex-husband’s birthday.
Bruno is not named in the lawsuit. Tempo Music Investments is suing Miley, TMZ reported Monday.
In the new lawsuit, Tempo Music accused Miley of “intentionally copying” When I Was Your Man in Flowers due to significant similarities between the two songs.
The investment company claims that Flowers features a similar melody and harmonies to the previous song, both in the verses and in the chorus.
He claims that the chord progressions used in Miley’s melody (which he is credited with writing with Aldae, real name Gregory Hein, and Michael Pollack) are similar to the progressions in Bruno’s song, and also claims that some of the song’s lyrics are similar to those in When I Was Your Man, which was written by Bruno with Philip Lawrence, Ari Levin, and Andrew Wyatt.
Tempo claims in its lawsuit: “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.”
Both songs were hits for their respective artists and each reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
When I Was Your Man was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014, but Flowers was even more successful.
The song won Record of the Year, which honors songwriters, along with the award Bruno was nominated for, Best Pop Solo Performance.
Flowers was also nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammys, although she did not win.
Since her divorce was finalized in 2020, Miley has moved on with her boyfriend Maxx Morando.
Liam has been in a long-term relationship with model and actress Gabriella Brooks.
Tempo Music accuses Miley, her producers Kid Harpoon and Tyler Harper, and her record label of having access to Bruno’s song, even though almost all of them have access to the song, which was a hit when it was released a decade earlier and has remained easily accessible on physical media and streaming ever since.
The investment firm is seeking damages from Miley, though it is unclear whether it has specified the amount sought.
In a more severe move, she is requesting that she and her label be banned from distributing Flowers, which could entail removing it from future digital and physical versions of her 2023 album Endless Summer Vacation, and the label is also requesting that Miley be banned from performing the popular song again.
It appears that it was Tempo Music, and not Bruno, who filed the lawsuit after allegedly taking control of part of the copyright to the song.
In May 2021, it was reported that the Uptown Funk hitmaker had sold a portion of his song catalog to Warner Music Group six months earlier.
Few details about the scope of the scale were revealed at the time, but Bruno (real name Peter Hernandez) was reported to have retained majority ownership of its catalog.
In late 2019, Warner Music Group and Providence Equity Partners announced plans to invest $650 million in a new platform, Tempo Music Investments, according to Variety.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Miley’s representatives for comment.