Accused of plagiarism by academic Bruce Jackson, Johnny Depp and English guitarist Jeff Beck respond with legal action. as reported Rolling Stonethe two artists attack the scholar by claiming damages, reimbursement of legal costs, and a statement that they have not infringed copyright.
The dispute concerns a song from the joint album by Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck, 18, released last July. In August, Bruce Jackson relied on the same magazine to point out the resemblance between the song’s text Sad parade of motherfuckers and the one of tramp benpoem present in your collection Put your ass in the water and swim like mepublished in 1974.
“I’ve been posting for 50 years, and this is the first time I’ve seen someone copy something and put their own name on it,” he said, noting that only Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck were credited. the piece.
At the time, Bruce Jackson did not file a lawsuit and a spokesman for the album 18 had declared to Rolling Stone that the two artists were considering the request and that “new credits would be added (…) if it seemed appropriate”. Since then, the duo have gone on the offensive.
“There are no rights to these words”
They argue that Bruce Jackson is not the author of tramp benwhich he never hid. It is a poem by Slim Wilson, a convict and acquaintance of Bruce Jackson, who had recorded him reciting this poem before transcribing it in writing. The university ensures Rolling Stone having always shared their profits with their collaborators. But tramp ben it belongs to the oral tradition, even according to the magazine, and Slim Wilson himself had declared that his father had taught him this poem.
Ainsi, Johnny Depp and Jeff Beck affirm that Bruce Jackson “doesn’t even have the right to” from ‘Hobo Ben’, and that the copy of the poems are free and the registrations that don’t know about it right now these words.”
They ensure that Sad parade of motherfuckers is “a work of original authorship and creativity”, while acknowledging that “some elements perhaps echo the words of ‘Hobo Ben'”.
“These two display deep hypocrisy,” say Bruce Jackson’s attorneys (and children), Rachel and Michael Jackson. “On the one hand they claim that Professor Jackson cannot have the rights to the song Sad parade of motherfuckers because it is a (…) poem of uncertain origin, freely transmitted within the Afro-American community (…) and on the other hand, they have repeatedly claimed responsibility for that same song -first in the digital version of 18later on the vinyl version”.
“To me, adds Bruce Jackson, it’s like a thief suing a homeowner because he cut his hand on the kitchen window when he broke it to get in.”
This is a new legal dispute for Johnny Depp, following his highly publicized lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard last spring. She had been sentenced to pay 10 million dollars to the actor, who accused her of defamation for an article in the Washington Post in 2018 where he claimed to have been a victim of “domestic violence”. Amber Heard got the actor to pay her $2 million. She is currently preparing her appeal trial.
Source: BFM TV
