Taylor Swift’s Attorneys Slam Life Of A Showgirl Trademark Lawsuit
They called the suit “absurd.”
In a brief filed on May 6, Taylor Swift’s lawyers responded to a Las Vegas showgirl’s trademark lawsuit, in which Maren Flagg claimed that Swift’s Life of a Showgirl album infringed on her trademarked name, “Confessions of a Showgirl.”
Back in March, Flagg’s lawyers filed a suit, alleging that Swift’s latest album and her own “Confessions of a Showgirl” brand (which includes a newspaper column, podcast, and cabaret performances) “share the same structure, the same dominant phrase, and the same overall commercial impression. Both are used in overlapping markets and are directed at the same consumers.” Flagg also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, which would stop Swift from continued use of the Life of a Showgirl brand.
Per Variety, Swift’s lawyers responded to Flagg’s motion in a brief on May 6. “This motion, just like Maren Flagg’s lawsuit, should never have been filed. It is simply Ms. Flagg’s latest attempt to use Taylor Swift’s name and intellectual property to prop up her brand,” the attorneys wrote.
“Plaintiff attempts to broadly lump her cabaret show and defendants’ musical album together as ‘entertainment services.’ That comparison is absurd,” her legal team continued, adding that Flagg only performs at “small intimate venues” — plus, the attorneys noted that Flagg had “no upcoming performances.”
Swift’s legal team also pointed out Flagg’s history of posting about Life of a Showgirl and using the album in her own marketing. “Since the album announcement, plaintiff has reframed her brand around the album, flooding her social media accounts with posts attempting to align herself with Ms. Swift and the album,” they wrote. “Prior to the album announcement, plaintiff had never used ‘the life of a showgirl’ in her social media promotion. Following the announcement, plaintiff used the phrase or posted generally about Ms. Swift or the album over 40 times on her branded Instagram and TikTok accounts.”
The brief also claimed that Flagg’s commercial use of Swift’s Life of a Showgirl album “constitutes clear infringement under federal law.” Her lawyers wrote, “In fact, a mere four days after Ms. Swift announced her album title and artwork in August 2025, Ms. Flagg announced a brand-new podcast mimicking Ms. Swift’s Album artwork, logo, title, and taglines. Then, plaintiff flooded her Instagram and TikTok pages with 40+ advertisements for her brand using Ms. Swift’s music, trademarks, and other intellectual property without permission.”
The brief goes on to argue that Swift’s album name is protected by the First Amendment: “This is because titles of expressive works ‘implicate the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech’ and ‘consumers are less likely to mistake the use of someone else’s mark in an expressive work for a sign of association, authorship, or endorsement.”
