Singer Skylar Grey reportedly had to sell rights to some of the biggest songs she’s contributed to in order to fund her messy divorce battle, including hit tracks with Eminem (“Love the Way You Lie”), Dr. Dre (“I Need a Doctor”) and Diddy (“Coming Home).”
Variety ran an interview with Grey, who has been mostly out of the public eye for more than five years. The singer talked about going through a bitter divorce battle from Todd Mandel in her absence, during which she had to sell her ownership of hit songs in order to pay for her mounting legal fees.
“Since 2017 I was going through a divorce and lawsuit, that was just wrecking me emotionally and financially,” Grey told the publication. “This past year, 2021, we finally resolved it, settled, I had to sell my catalog in order to afford the settlement, which was very sad in a way, because those songs like ‘Love the Way You Lie’ and ‘Coming Home,’ those are my babies. But at the same time, nobody can tell me I didn’t write those songs just ’cause I don’t own the rights to them anymore. I didn’t want to sell them, but it was my only way to put the past behind me.”
She added, “[The songs are] still near and dear to my heart and yeah, I will always treasure them, but it’s different now. Every time one of those songs get used in a movie or whatever, I don’t see any of that money anymore. But unfortunately, the majority of what I got paid for my catalog went to taxes and my ex-husband.”
Skylar Grey most famously co-wrote Eminem and Rihanna’s 2011 smash hit “Love the Way You Lie,” which has since gone on to become certified diamond and is currently 13-times platinum. She was presumably still getting sizable checks for that record. She has also worked with several other hip-hop artists including Nicki Minaj, T.I., and Macklemore. On multiple occasions, she’s worked with Eminem, who executive produced her 2012 Don’t Look Down album. Grey released her self-titled comeback album in April.
