Major online drama erupted when TikTok singer Sadie Fine received a cease and desist letter from Jacob Sartorius over Fine’s song, “Wish You All The Worst,” expected to be released on streaming platforms Nov. 8. In a series of TikTok posts, Sadie says she and Sartorius co-wrote the song, and she thought she had the social media superstar musician’s permission to put it out.
In the first TikTok post on the matter, Fine, less well-known than Sartorius with around 17,000 TikTok followers, reads the letter she received, and in it, who is likely Sartorius’ legal team asks for her not to use Sartorius’ name, voice, and likeness in her song, or she’ll get sued. Sartorius’ letter says he never authorized the song’s release. With an extended middle finger, Fine, who, according to her X bio, is from Clarksville, TN, signals she won’t comply. The news created such controversy on social media that Fine and Sartorius’ comments sections blew up in response.
Fine and Sartorius met in Nashville
In a follow-up post, Fine says she met Sartorius at a show in Nashville. They got along, co-wrote the song, and agreed it could be released. Fine says Sartorius seemed like a “great guy.” She would have never expected the letter she later received, she said. But at the end of that post, she added, Sartorius just told her in a text, “I’m gonna call you later.”
Sartorius got his start on the Music.aly app in 2014 at the age of 15, and he now has millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram. His most recent release, Sleep When I’m Dead, came out in 2022. And Sartorius’ 2017 single, “Sweatshirt” charted in the U.S. and Canada.
“I don’t even know what’s going on”
In her next post, Fine plays the phone conversation with Sartorius on speakerphone, and the singer says he was unaware that the letter was even sent. After Fine’s first post, Sartorius said his comments went “insane.” He added, “I want this song to come out.” His team agreed if the song could get 10,000 pre-saves, Sartorius said. Fine seemed overwhelmed by that number, but as she ended her post, she seemingly understood his difficult position.
Could the whole thing be a marketing ploy orchestrated between Fine and Sartorius? According to one of Fine’s comments, that might be the case. “I love this PR move, great job!” it read.
“Everyone chill”
In the next post, Fine says things have worked out and asks her followers to back off the online controversy. “Jacob and I want the song out. We just need to prove his team wrong,” the caption read. Whether there ever really was a legal dispute, the news seems to have worked based on comments like, “Am I the only one listening to this on replay ???” and “Where do I pre-save?”
Fine hasn’t mentioned the song or the Sartorius letter again except for two posts where she lip-syncs to the hip-hop-influenced break-up song, so for now, the project seems back on track. Over on X, Fine shared the post above, asking for pre-saves. And Fine also got tagged in this comment: “I’m really glad they worked to sort it out. You totally ROCK @SadieFineSings! They’re lucky to have you on that collaboration. Go get um!”