Taylor Swift sued for trademark infringement over ‘Life of a Showgirl’

Reuters: Pop megastar Taylor Swift was sued by a Las Vegas performer on Monday who said Swift’s latest hit album “The Life ​of a Showgirl” violates her trademark rights.

Maren Wade said in ‌the complaint, opens new tab that marketing for Swift’s album threatened to “drown out” her long-running “Confessions of a Showgirl” stage show and asked the court to block Swift from creating confusion with her ​album title.

Spokespeople for Swift and her label Universal Music Group, opens new tab, ​also a defendant, did not immediately respond to a request ⁠for comment.

Wade’s attorney Jaymie Parkkinen said they “have great respect for Swift’s talent ​and success, but trademark law exists to ensure that creators at all ​levels can protect what they’ve built.”

“The Life of a Showgirl,” Swift’s 12th album, was released in October and shattered Spotify streaming records on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album ​of 2025.

Wade said in the complaint that she began writing her “Confessions of ​a Showgirl” column for Las Vegas Weekly in 2014.

She said she has since toured ‌a ⁠stage show with the same name featuring “candid and often humorous accounts of the challenges and absurdities of a career in the entertainment industry, from getting stuck inside a giant birthday cake to impersonating a Madonna impersonator.”

The ​US Patent and Trademark ​Office rejected ⁠Swift’s application last year for a federal “Life of a Showgirl” trademark covering “musical performances and live entertainment services,” citing potential ​confusion with Wade’s pre-existing “Confessions of a Showgirl” trademark.

Wade said ​in ⁠the complaint that Swift’s continued use of the “Life of a Showgirl” name “drowns out” her trademark “until consumers begin to assume that the original is the imitation.”

“What ⁠Plaintiff had ​built over twelve years, Defendants threatened to ​swallow in weeks,” Wade said.

Wade requested a court order blocking Swift’s use of her “Showgirl” brand ​and unspecified monetary damages.