By C1 Staff
HUNTINGDON, Pa. — A Pennsylvania inmate is claiming credit for a hit song by Miley Cyrus.
Inmate Jamie Cruz, who’s currently serving time for a burglary conviction, is trying to back up his claim with a lawsuit, according to PennLive. He claims that his song, titled the same as Cyrus’s “We Can’t Stop,” was plagiarized after he sent a copy to the Nashville-based entertainment giant Big Machine Records nearly three years ago.
The Cyrus song was released last yeat, and in January reached the no. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Cruz claims he heard nothing after sending out the copy of his song. He then says that while in prison he heard his song, performed by Miley at the VMAs, and realized that it had been stolen from him.
To prove his claim, he submitted a copy of his song that he claims he filed with the Erie County clerk of records in September 2011. The letter he placed in evidence bears a postmark from that date.
The lyrics of both songs are not identical, but there are periodic similarities. The inmate’s version is far more sexually explicit, enough so that it’s unlikely it would be played on public radio. Whether the tune of the two documents is similar cannot be discerned from court documents.
Cruz says he will only settle for 85 percent of the overall profits, and will only settle for $25,000 per network. He won’t accept a settlement of less than $150,000 from Big Machine.
His suit is currently in a sort of limbo; a judge is allowing him to pursue the suit as a pauper, meaning many filing fees will be waived.