While Tory Lanez combats internet trolls for the advice that he gave to Kanye West, it appears that he’s now facing more backlash over an unauthorized sample on 2021’s Alone At Prom. The estate of George Michael is gunning to remove the single, “Enchanted Waterfall” from streaming services. The song includes a sample from Michael’s 1985 single, “Careless Whisper,” though it appears that Tory didn’t get any authorization to use the record.
Michael’s estate claims Tory’s song uses components of “Careless Whisper,” which he co-wrote alongside Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley, on “Enchanted Waterfall.”
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Variety obtained a statement issued on behalf of Ridgeley and Michael’s estate claims that Tory did seek permission to use the sample but was declined in June 2021, roughly six months before the album dropped.
“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.”
Tory’s yet to respond to the accusations but this isn’t the first time he would face backlash for unauthorized use of samples on this specific album. Madonna previously aired out Tory for using a sample of “Into The Groove” for “Pluto’s Last Comet.”