George Michael (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images), Tory Lanez (Photo by Erik Voake/Getty Images for Roc Nation).
The George Michael estate has accused Tory Lanez of sampling "Careless Whisper" without permission on his song "Enchanted Waterfall," Variety reports. "Enchanted Waterfall" appears on Lanez's 80s-inspired album Alone at Prom, which was released in December 2021.
According to a statement released on behalf of the George Michael estate and Andrew Ridgeley, a request for permission to sample "Careless Whisper" had been declined in June 2021, but "Enchanted Waterfall" was released despite the estate's disapproval.
Read the full statement provided to Variety below:
“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….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 unauthorized use of any songs within the catalogues of George Michael and/or Andrew Ridgeley,”
Last year, Madonna also accused the Toronto rapper of unauthorized usage of her 1985 single "Into The Groove" on Lanez's "Pluto's Last Comet," which also appears on Alone At Prom. "I am tired of being taken advantage of and I mean business," Madonna told Rolling Stone via a representative.
Currently, Lanez is awaiting the start of his assault case involving the July 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 5.
The FADER has reached out to Tory Lanez's representatives for comment.
