Black Eyed Peas Sue Toymaker for Turning My Humps Into My Poops
Black Eyed Peas and their music publishing company, BMG Rights Management, are suing a toy company for turning their multi-platinum smash, “My Humps,” into “My Poops.”
According to court documents obtained by XXL, BMG Rights Management, who owns 75 percent of the copyright for Black Eyed Peas‘ 2005 hit “My Humps,” took toymaker MGA Entertainment Inc. to court on Thursday (Jan. 19) seeking at least $10 million in damages. The major publishing company is of the belief that MGA Entertainment’s popular line of toys, Poopie Slime Surprise, infringed upon their rights to “My Humps” by changing the lyrics of the song to “My Poops” without proper authorization.
According to BMG Rights Management, the dancing unicorn toys that make up the Poopsie Slime Surprise product line include a button on their bellies that when pressed, play a potty-themed version of Black Eyed Peas‘ “My Humps” pretty much verbatim. Aside from the toys themselves, the promotional videos used to advertise the product line appear to use the adapted version of “My Poops” as well.
“My poops, my poops, my poops, my poops,” the defecating dancing unicorns can be heard singing in the video below. “Whatcha gonna do with all that poop, all that poop?/I’ma poop, poop, poop, poop/Oh, yeah/I drive my parents crazy/I do it every day.”
As stated by BMG’s lawsuit, the Poopie Slime Surprise toys appear to carry the same melody, rhyme scheme, cadence and chord progression as Fergie can be heard singing in the Black Eyed Peas version of “My Humps.”
“Whatcha gonna do with all that junk/all that junk inside your trunk?” Fergie raps in the video below. “My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump/My lovely lady lumps/I drive these brothers crazy, I do it on the daily.”
BMG Rights Management claims that the Poopie Slime Surprise toys have not only illegally earned over $10 million on the back of the wildly popular Black Eyed Peas song but that MGA Entertainment Inc. has also ignored various cease-and-desist orders.
Black Eyed Peas‘ “My Humps” was certified double platinum back in June of 2006 and reached a peak position of No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
XXL has reached out to Black Eyed Peas, BMG Rights Management and MGA Entertainment Inc. for a statement.