Tory Lanez accused of using George Michael's 'Careless Whisper' without permission
The George Michael estate has accused Tory Lanez of using 'Careless Whisper' without permission on his 2021 single, 'Enchanted Waterfall.' The George Michael estate and Andrew Ridgeley, co-writer of 'Careless Whisper', declined a request for permission to use the 1984 song in June 2021 in a statement, but Lanez moved ahead with 'Enchanted Waterfall' regardless.
According to Variety, the statement said, “it was brought to our attention that the song ‘Enchanted Waterfall’ by the artist Tory Lanez incorporated an unauthorized sample of ‘Careless Whisper’ written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. [R]equested 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 unauthorized use of any songs within the catalogs of George Michael and/or Andrew Ridgeley.”
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While 'Enchanted Waterfall' isn't on Spotify's edition of 'Alone at Prom', it's still accessible on Apple Music, and Lanez's YouTube account has the music video. A quick search for 'Enchanted Waterfall' on Spotify turns up the exact same song published under the comically conspicuous artist name 'Tory Roadz,' despite the fact that it isn't officially on Spotify. The song has also racked up over 73,000 streams.
Prior to attracting the wrath of Michael's estate, Lanez was chastised by Madonna, who accused the rapper of infringing her 1985 hit 'Into the Groove' for another 'Alone at Prom' song, 'Pluto's Last Comet.' "I am tired of being taken advantage of and I mean business," Madonna initially raised the matter in the comments section of one of Lanez's Instagram pictures last December. She added, “read your messages for illegal usage of my song get into the groove!"
Tory released ‘Enchanted Waterfall’ and its official music video in December 2021, but has yet to reply to the allegations. Aside from the claims of unauthorized sampling, Lanez is also awaiting the commencement of his felony assault lawsuit concerning Megan Thee Stallion's shooting. The lawsuit alleges he shot Megan in her feet during a drunken dispute in July 2020. A preliminary hearing has been rescheduled until April 5.