The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.

Robin Thicke accused of lying to Oprah Winfrey

The "Blurred Lines" singer is a involved in a copyright trial

Helen Nianias
Monday 02 March 2015 13:12 GMT
Comments
Robin Thicke was crowned 2013's Sexist of the Year by the End Violence Against Women Coalition
Robin Thicke was crowned 2013's Sexist of the Year by the End Violence Against Women Coalition (Robin Thicke)

Robin Thicke has been accused of changing his story about how much Marvin Gaye influenced his work.

Thicke spoke about how "half of his music was inspired by Gaye" on Oprah Winfrey's chat show. But in court he was asked whether he'd modified his story about the legendary musician's impact on his work during a plagiarism trial that will decide if his song "Blurred Lines" infringed on Gaye's song "Got To Give It Up".

In May 2013, Thicke told GQ magazine that "Blurred Lines" was partially inspired by Gaye's song. "Pharrell and I were in the studio and I told him that one of my favourite songs of all time was Marvin Gaye’s 'Got to Give It Up'," he said. "I was like, 'Damn, we should make something like that, something with that groove.' Then he started playing a little something and we literally wrote the song in about a half hour and recorded it.'" The quotes given in the interview have featured in the courtcase.

In the first stage of the trial, Thicke corrected other claims he'd made in interviews, saying that he didn't co-write the song as he'd previously claimed, and that he was under the influence of alcohol during the time the song was written and released.

"I was high and drunk every time I did an interview last year," he said. "None of it was my idea... I’d say 75% of ["Blurred Lines"] was already done when I walked in [to the studio]."

"It felt like a little white lie that wouldn't hurt his career and [would] boost‎ mine," Thicke said.

The case continues.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in