George Michael’s estate has accused Tory Lanez of using an ‘unauthorised sample’ of his 1984 single Careless Whisper.
The rapper, 29, was recently accused by Madonna of ripping off her 1985 hit Into The Groove after she called him out for the ‘illegal’ interpolation of her track on Pluto’s Last Comet from his LP Alone at Prom.
And now, the estate of the late pop legend is taking action to remove Tory’s song Enchanted Waterfall from streaming platforms after they ‘declined permission’ for him to use the sample last summer. It has already been removed from Spotify.
Whoops! George Michael’s estate has accused Tory Lanez of using an ‘unauthorised sample’ of his 1984 single Careless Whisper
Careless Whisper was co-written with George ‘s Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley and released and topped the charts worldwide.
A statement issued to Variety on behalf of the estate and songwriter Andrew read: ‘It was brought to our attention that the song “Enchanted Waterfall” by the artist Tory Lanez incorporated an unauthorised sample of “Careless Whisper” written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley…
‘Requested permission for this use had been declined in June 2021 so we took immediate action on behalf of the writers, in collaboration with our publishers Warner Chappell Music, to prevent further exploitation as we will not tolerate any unauthorised use of any songs within the catalogues of George Michael and/or Andrew Ridgeley.’
Twitter reaction has been mixed, with some users hitting out at Tory for taking the sample while others claimed it was the song’s ‘icing on the cake’.
Talented: Careless Whisper was co-written with George’s Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley and released and topped the charts worldwide (George is pictured in the music video)
They said: ‘Tory Lanez using George Michael melodys was the icing on the cake for me.’
‘@torylanez George Michael influence on enchanted waterfall is fireeeee [eye emojis].’
‘Just a rip off of Careless Whisper by George Michael.’
‘I LOVE George Michael but his state should’ve let Tory Lanez use it. The song is so good.’
Big blow: The estate of the late pop legend is taking action to remove Tory’s song Enchanted Waterfall from streaming platforms after they ‘declined permission’ for him to use the sample last summer (Tory is pictured in the music video)
‘na but why did George Michael copy Tory Lanez’ whole flow on careless whisper tho???’
‘Shout out George Michael for careless whisper cause Tory Lanez did not miss on enchanted waterfall.’
Representatives for Tory and George’s estate have been contacted for comment by MailOnline.
It comes after Madonna took her beef with Tory to Instagram to voice her concerns both publicly, and seemingly privately as well.
The 63-year-old singer posted a comment on the 29-year-old rapper’s Instagram post in December, indicating she direct messaged him about illegally sampling her 1985 song Get Into the Groove on his new song Pluto’s Last Comet.
‘Read your messages tor illegal usage of my song get into the groove!’ Madonna said in an Instagram comment.
She has yet to comment publicly about Tory sampling her original classic, and it’s unclear what she said in her direct messages to him.
It’s also unclear if the pop icon plans on taking legal action against Lanez for sampling her song without her permission.
The opening instrumental of Pluto’s Last Comet is eerily similar to – if not identical to – the instrumental of Get Into the Groove.
Divided: Twitter reaction has been mixed, with some users hitting out at Tory for taking the sample while others claimed it was the song’s ‘icing on the cake’
Madonna’s hit song was released in July 1985 and featured on her big-screen acting debut Desperately Seeking Susan.
The hit song was also featured on the studio re-issue of her second album, 1984’s Like a Virgin.
Back in September, Rolling Stone listed Into the Groove on its massive list of the 500 Best Songs of All Time list at #161.
The Say It songster has been making headlines lately for his legal troubles in his shooting case with rapper Megan Thee Stallion.
Just before Christmas, Los Angeles Police Department detective Ryan Stonger testified that Lanez shouted, ‘Dance, b***h, dance!’ while firing shots at her feet, one of which struck her foot.
He also made headlines with Love & Hip-Hop: Miami star Prince Michael Harty claims Tory assaulted him at a South Beach nightclub.
Beef: The rapper, 29, was recently accused by Madonna of ripping off her 1985 hit Into The Groove after she called him out for the ‘illegal’ interpolation of her track on Pluto’s Last Comet (pictured in September 2021)