Rick Astley is suing rapper Yung Gravy for allegedly using an unauthorized imitation of his voice in his 2022 single “Betty (Get Money).”
The British singer filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles in which he claimed he gave the rapper, real name Matthew Hauri, permission to use the instrumental of his 1987 global smash “Never Gonna Give You Up” for the prominent sample in “Betty (Get Money).”
However, he allegedly did not allow his voice to be used or give authorization to Hauri to hire an impersonator to mimic him.
“A license to use the original underlying musical composition does not authorize the stealing of the artist’s voice in the original recording,” Astley’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit, according to Billboard. “So, instead, they resorted to theft of Mr. Astley’s voice without a license and without agreement.”
They claim Hauri hired Popnick, real name Nick Seeley, to imitate Astley’s “signature voice” on the track without his permission.
“In an effort to capitalize off of the immense popularity and goodwill of Mr. Astley, defendants… conspired to include a deliberate and nearly indistinguishable imitation of Mr. Astley’s voice throughout the song,” the lawyers continued. “The public could not tell the difference. The imitation of Mr. Astley’s voice was so successful the public believed it was actually Mr. Astley singing.”
Astley’s attorneys claim the “Betty (Get Money)” creators violated their client’s right of publicity, and allege Hauri violated federal trademark law by falsely claiming that Astley endorsed the song.
Astley is suing Hauri, Seeley, the song’s producers, and Republic Records executives for millions of dollars.
