Miley Cyrus says she can buy herself flowers — but were those flowers stolen?
The 31-year-old singer is being sued for allegedly copying Bruno Mars' 2013 song “When I Was Your Man” in her 2023 Grammy Award-winning track “Flowers.”
The Post obtained the suit, which was filed by Tempo Music Investments in a Los Angeles court on Monday.
Mars, 38, is not a plaintiff in the suit.
The lawsuit said the two songs have “substantial similarities” and that Cyrus' track couldn't exist without Mars' song.
“Any fan of Bruno Mars' 'When I Was Your Man' knows that Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers' would not have achieved this much success on its own,” the documents state. “'Flowers' contains many of the melodic, harmonic and lyrical elements of 'When I Was Your Man.'”
Cyrus is named as a defendant along with “Flowers” co-writers Gregory Heaney and Michael Pollack. Sony Music Publishing and Apple are among the other defendants.
Tempo Music Investments claims in documents that it has “acquired copyright interests” Song of Mars “In or around 2020.”
The company wants Cyrus and the rest of the defendants to “cease reproducing, distributing or publicly performing 'Flowers.'” The plaintiff is also seeking an undisclosed amount in damages.
The Post has contacted representatives for Cyrus and Mars.
The lyrics of “Flowers” appear to directly reference “When I Was Your Man”, although Cyrus herself has never confirmed this.
In his song, Mars sings, “Too stupid to realize I should have bought you flowers.” Miley responds in her song, “I can buy myself flowers.”
“And held your hand,” Mars continues in his song, as Cyrus says in her song, “And held your hand.”
Cyrus released “Flowers” as the lead single from her eighth studio album, “Endless Summer Vacation,” in January 2023. The song won Cyrus her first Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance in February.
Ever since “Flowers” came out, fans have been convinced the song is about Cyrus' ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, to whom she was married from 2018 to 2019.
The former Disney Channel star was asked about the speculation in an interview. Interview with British Vogue Last May.
“I never had to master the art of manipulating an audience. It would catch fire on its own,” Cyrus said.
He also revealed that he originally wrote this single “in a really different way.”
“The chorus was basically: 'I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, but I can't love myself better than you,'” she recalled. “It was like the 1950s. The saddest song. Like: 'Sure, I can be my own lover, but you're so much better than that.'”
