John Rogers/Getty Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas may have demanded “no drama” on their 2005 Grammy-winning “My Humps,” but the music company that owns the song’s copyright, BMG, insists that the song be a hit. It’s suing a toy company for parodying “My Poops”. commercial.
Last week, BMG Rights Management filed a lawsuit against MGA Entertainment over a commercial for the Poopsie Slime Surprise toy that appeared to parody the lyrics and melody of “My Humps.” rice field.
Documents obtained by PEOPLE found BMG claiming the company was “willful copyright infringement” and “unauthorized abuse” in commercials released in 2020.
Related: The Black Eyed Peas Explain Why Fergie Is No Longer Involved With The Group: ‘She’s A Mother’
Many similarities are often heard between “My Humps” and “My Poops”. For example, the original song included “What do you do with that junk? / All that junk in your trunk? / I’ma get, get, get, get you drunk / Get you lovedrunk off my humps. ‘ contains the lyrics. “
Using the same melody, the commercial features the lyrics “What do you do with that poop?/All that poop, woo, woo/I poop, poop, poop, poop, oh yeah.”
The complaint alleges that the toy maker “obviously had access” to “My Humps.” The song won her the 2006 MTV Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video and earned her over 700 million views on YouTube.
Related: will.i.am says Tupac and Biggie’s music ‘doesn’t speak’ to his ‘spirit’: ‘I don’t lift them like that’
BMG is demanding that MGA Entertainment “destroy all copies” of “My Poops” and $10 million in damages, as well as commercial “future licensing value of the Black Eyed Peas hit.” It’s gone down,” he claims.
But the fact that parody is protected under the First Amendment complicates matters. rolling stone “If the case goes to court, the song’s parody nature is likely to be the most controversial,” it argues.
BMG’s attorneys declined to comment to PEOPLE.
This isn’t the first time commercial parodies have been sued by musicians and record companies. Notably, the Beastie Boys once sued toy brand GoldieBlox for parodying the band’s 1987 hit “Girls” in an ad before they settled in 2014.
