Elvis Costello Says Olivia Rodrigo Suing Over 'Brutal' Riff Would Be 'Ridiculous'

Elvis Costello fully supports Olivia Rodrigo.

In a new interview with Vanity fair, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer shared his thoughts on Rodrigo's I'm angry The album's opener, “Brutal,” was seemingly inspired by the anger of the 1978 anthem “Pump It Up.” He told the publication that the artists “refer [the song] in their own settings. Like Olivia Rodrigo's producer apparently did.”

“Now, I didn't see any reason to go after them legally for this, because I think that would be ridiculous,” Costello continued. “It's a common language of music. Other people clearly felt differently about other songs on this record.”

Costello has seemingly addressed a series of copyright issues with Rodrigo's singles, including “Deja Vu,” which she once said was partially inspired by Swift's “Cruel Summer” before retroactively crediting Swift as a co-writer. A similar scenario befell Rodrigo's “Good 4 U”, on which she was retroactively credited and shared the rights with Paramore's Hayley Williams and Josh Farro, after listeners pointed out similarities between the song and “Misery Business”.

The “Radio, Radio” star defended Rodrigo on social media in 2021, responding to a user who pointed out that “Brutal” and “Pump It Up” sound similar. “That's fine by me, Billy,” he told user X. “That's how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new game. That's what I did.”

It also included the hashtags “#subterreneanhomesickblues” and “#toomuchmonkeybusiness”, in reference to the respective Bob Dylan and Chuck Berry songs that influenced “Pump It Up”.