Mariah Carey is being sued over her 28-year-old holiday hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
The Grammy-award winner is at the center of a copyright infringement complaint by a songwriter named Andy Stone, who says she stole his song’s title. Before Carey released her smash hit in 1994, Stone says he had already co-written a song by the same name for country group Vince Vance & the Valiants in 1989. In the lawsuit docs, Stone says his song was a popular radio single and even found its way on the Billboard charts.
The problem with Stone’s claim is that his record sounds nothing like Carey’s, containing different lyrics and melody. Still, he claims that Carey and her team stole the song title without permission from him or the group.
In addition to Carey, Stone’s lawsuit takes aim at Carey’s co-writer on the song, Walter Afanasieff. Stone’s complaint states that Carey and Afanasieff “knowingly, willfully and intentionally engaged in a campaign to infringe Stone’s copyright in the work.”
Stone is seeking $20 million in damages, alleging that the 52-year-old has made millions from the song and rightfully owes him.
Mariah Carey has not publicly responded to the suit.
