“Shake It Off” is a well-known song, the lyrics of which some say have been borrowed from a not-so-well-known early-2000s girl group 3LW. 3LW’s song is titled “Playas Gon’ Play”, and features similar lyrics to Swift’s song, including “Playas, they gonna play” and “Haters, they gonna hate”.

Swift’s team said that the “Playas Gon’ Play” songwriters didn’t “invent” the phrases in question, and Swift hadn’t even heard the song prior to the lawsuit. The 3LW songwriters said that the phrases were “completely original and unique” at the time that they wrote the song.

Swift currently has over 200 federal trademarks, which she began registering in 2008. One of these includes “Players gonna play”, one of the phrases said to have been stolen from 3LW, which adds another big problem to this debate.

A trial date is set for January 17, 2023. Swift’s fans have previously noticed Easter eggs hinting that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) may be her next (Taylor’s Version) album rerecord; however, after the lawsuit came up, Swift began dropping hints that one of her other albums may be next.