George Michael Estate Calls Out Tory Lanez For Uncleared “Careless Whisper” Sample

K. Butler/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

George Michael Estate Calls Out Tory Lanez For Uncleared “Careless Whisper” Sample

K. Butler/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

At the end of last year, Madonna called out the embattled rapper Tory Lanez for “illegal use” of her hit “Into The Groove” on his song “Pluto’s Last Comet.” Now another song from Lanez’s ’80s-inspired Alone At Prom is facing similar heat.

As Variety reports, the George Michael estate has ordered Lanez to cease the distribution of “Enchanted Waterfall,” which features an uncleared sample of “Careless Whisper,” the 1985 chart-topper from Wham! Featuring George Michael.

The estate gave this statement to Variety:

It was brought to our attention that the song “Enchanted Waterfall: by the artist Tory Lanez incorporated an unauthorized sample of “Careless Whisper” written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley… requested permission for this use had been declined in June 2021 so we took immediate action on behalf of the writers, in collaboration with our publishers Warner Chappell Music, to prevent further exploitation as we will not tolerate any unauthorized use of any songs within the catalogues of George Michael and/or Andrew Ridgeley.

“Enchanted Waterfall” was removed from Spotify this year but remains available on YouTube and Apple Music. Lanez will soon face trial in the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion; he pled not guilty in December, when it was revealed he allegedly shouted, “Dance bitch!” while shooting at her feet.

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