Taylor Swift has run into some potential legal trouble over the title of her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl.
Specifically, Taylor and her various business partners are being accused of trademark infringement and of knowingly ignoring a similar phrase that had been trademarked in 2015 by Maren Flagg, known professionally as Maren Wade.
In her complaint, obtained by ABC News, Maren states that in 2014 she started writing a showbiz-related column for Las Vegas Weekly called Confessions of a Showgirl. She then turned that brand into a live show, which has toured nationwide, as well as a book, podcast and other content.
Maren says she trademarked Confessions of a Showgirl in 2015 for “entertainment services” and after several years achieved “incontestable status,” which means she has the exclusive right to use the trademark.
Maren contends in her complaint that in 2025, Taylor and her team attempted to register The Life of a Showgirl as a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They were denied, according to the complaint, because Maren’s trademark and The Life of a Showgirl were “confusingly similar,” especially since both were to be used for entertainment purposes. The concern was that fans and consumers might assume the two were connected.
Despite the denial, Maren’s complaint goes on to say that Taylor’s team “continued using [the phrase] anyway, expanding it across a coordinated commercial program and distributing it through retail channels reaching millions of consumers.” Maren says she was never contacted about any of this.
Maren is asking for an injunction to stop Taylor and her team from using The Life of a Showgirl, plus the profits that they earned from using that phrase, as well as legal fees.
ABC Audio has reached out to a representative for Taylor. The singer has not yet responded to the complaint in court.
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