The Katy Perry ‘Dark Horse’ Case Has an Unexpected Duggar Connection

Six degrees of separation? On Monday, July 29, a Los Angeles jury found that Katy Perry’s 2013 pop hit “Dark Horse” copied a 2008 Christian rap song by a performer named Flame called “Joyful Noise” — the very same Flame who once appeared on Counting On on TLC. Remember the Christian rapper Ben Seewald was friends with? It’s the same guy.

In 2014, the band, a.k.a. Marcus Gray and two other writers, sued because they claimed the songs sounded very similar. Flame’s attorneys argued that the beat and instrumental line of “Dark Horse” is interchangeable with “Joyful Noise,” but Katy’s attorneys argued the song and beat are common, according to the Associated Press. Even though she and the other producers of “Dark Horse” testified that they hadn’t previously heard the song before, and don’t listen to Christian music, the jury ruled in Flame’s favor and will now decide how much Katy and the other defendants owe for copyright infringement. Do you think Ben, 24, will post about his friend’s victory on social media?

In case you don’t remember, Flame appeared on a few episodes of Counting On early on in Ben and Jessa Duggar’s marriage. He even tried rapping on the show while in the studio with his friend, and you can see the rather awkward result in the video above. Check out Jessa’s face — she may have supported her hubby and his interest in the genre, but she clearly didn’t think it was his calling!

Ben also once conducted an interview with Flame about how Christians should fight racism together. He promotes Christian rappers on his Instagram and once shared his Spotify playlist full of hip-hop. In other words, it doesn’t seem like this was a case of having a random guest star on the show. Ben and Flame legitimately seem to be friends and Ben truly seems to have a passion for this music! We hope he made a very enthusiastic phone call to the entertainer after his big victory. Maybe the moment will be on Counting On one day?