According to the songwriter and producer, Lady Gaga did not contribute enough to the The Hunting Ground's Til it Happens to You to merit a nod for best original song.
Published: Tue 19 Jan 2016, 11:00 PM
Last updated: Wed 20 Jan 2016, 10:19 AM
Lady Gaga is off to a very good start to 2016, scoring both a Golden Globes win and an Oscar nom, but Linda Perry spoke out on Monday to say that she doesn't think the pop star is so deserving of the latter. According to the songwriter and producer, Lady Gaga did not contribute enough to the The Hunting Ground's Til it Happens to You to merit a nod for best original song. Instead, she said, it was Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren, who has a co-writing credit along with Lady Gaga, who penned most of the song.
"Normally I wouldn't respond to all this but I don't know Im feeling spunky," Perry tweeted on Monday. "There was another artist that originally was gonna sing #TIHTY." Perry went on to say that Lady Gaga rewrote only one line in the song: originally "til you got a hole ripped in your soul," which was revised to "til you're at the end, the end of your rope."
"But chances are Diane still took part in rewriting that line which means Gaga contributed a few words," Perry wrote. "Is that writing? Not in my book."
She did, however, give Lady gaga some credit, tweeting, "I love Gaga so much respect and love this song that has nothing to do with anything. Why did Gaga get credit? Maybe because ... Diane wanted to ensure her support in promoting the song. Gaga is a very smart business women she knew a song written by Diane Warren would be up for an Oscar." Warren responded to the controversy on Twitter later on Sunday, maintaining that the song was a collaboration between the two songstresses.
"Til It Happens To You was written for The Hunting Ground, an incredibly powerful documentary about sexual assault on college campuses," she wrote. "The song is the result of a special collaboration between myself and Lady Gaga. As Lady Gaga and I have consistly said. Til it Happens To you was inspired by the countless survivors of abuse who need our support and love so they know they're not alone."
Til it Happens to You is up against Fifty Shades of Grey's Earned It, Racing Extinction's Manta Ray, Youth's Simple Song #3 and Spectre's Writings On the Wall in the best original song category.