Usurped, Poem

Class Action Suit to Follow

Usurped

She walked into the retirement home library

like a bull in a china shop

holding her green covered book,

“The Let Them Theory”

announcing loudly ”her legacy” that she had published.

The grandmother, while doing a puzzle, shushed her, and said,

“Put it on the book shelf next to the girl who was here first,”

pointing to a framed poem by Cassie Phillips,

next to the photos of “Let Them” tattoos and merchandise from three years before

this woman 

entered this room, 

with this book.

Returning to the puzzle while the woman read the poem,

the grandmother heard the woman

whisper to herself,

“All the pieces were already here, I did usurp them.”

© Sage Justice March 2025 This concept/theory/poem is original to Sage Justice. If you use it, please give credit and link to original work. Thank you.

UPDATE

On March 12, 2025, in an interview with The New York Post, Mel Robbins denied any prior knowledge of having been influenced by the writings of Cassie Phillips. Nevertheless, the evidence remains that Mel Robbins was notified six months before the publication of her book of the existence of Cassie Phillips, the “Let Them” poem, merchandise, and tattoo movement, by the trademark office in the denial of her first attempt to trademark the words, “Let Them.”*

Regardless of whether Mel Robbins knew about Cassie Phillips before writing her book, or not, she knows now. Mel could simply make a public statement saying something along the lines of, “Hey everyone, it’s come to my attention that a poet by the name of Cassie Phillips was the first to get the tattoo “Let Them,” following her poem by the same name, after if went viral in 2022 and kicked off the “Let Them” tattoo and merchandise movement. Let’s give her some love and support and buy her book too.”

As author Stephanie Peirolo writes, “If Robbins, or anyone who worked for her or her publisher, had bothered to search the term ‘Let Them’, they would have found the poem written by Cassie Phillips that got lots of attention online years before Robbins’ book. A simple acknowledgement in Robbins’ book that this woman wrote a poem called ‘Let Them’ with the same ideas Robbins used would have been sufficient. Artists get inspired by other people’s work. I am writing this in response to Sage Justice’s piece. But I’m saying where my inspiration came from and linking to her work. Because that’s what you do.”

It’s far easier to lift a sister up than it is to try and hold her down.

Class Action Suit to Follow

This case matters. It’s a seminal moment in the publishing world, in the aftermath of the introduction of ChatGPT into mainstream use and Meta’s use of OpenAI. If we allow it to go unchecked and not be rectified, we are setting a precedent that it’s acceptable for celebrities to profit off of the work of uncredited writers, poets, and artists, simply by claiming they had no prior knowledge; and that is not acceptable. A class action legal case will likely be the result of this unethical behavior.

As cited on Amanda B. Hinton’s The Editing Spectrum, author Daisy Buchanan wrote, “I’ve just learned that my four novels – Insatiable, Careering, Limelight and Pity Party – have been pirated by LibGen, a ‘shadow library’ made up of millions of books and articles that have been pirated. If an organisation wants to make use of your intellectual property – whether they want to read a bit out on the radio or take your idea and turn it into a musical – permissions must be sought, and fees must be paid. According to the Guardian, a group of authors have already sued Meta for training their AI bots on LibGen, knowing the data was pirated.”

“I don’t use AI in my writing. Not here, not in my book. Ever. If you do, here’s a simple suggestion. If AI spits out a great phrase or resonant term of art all you have to do is pop it in a search bar and see what comes up. If that fragment of IP was part of someone else’s original hard work, just credit them. The same way you would if you were writing an academic paper and used someone else’s idea. The footnote of grace, the nod to the people who came before you, the humble acceptance of your influences, all in a floating number next to a word that guides your eyes to the tiny print at the bottom of the page that says, ‘here’s where that came from.’ Bring back the footnote.”¹

My Stake in this Claim

This plight for justice began as a desire to simply support a sister. In the process, it became evident that without change, all writers would be in danger of losing authority over their intellectual property and the income attached.

My work has been plagiarized more times than I can count, and I can no longer afford to stay silent. This is my livelihood. Being a writer is the only job I can hold from bed, as someone with a disability who never knows when or if I can work or for how long. My words are my lifeblood, and they are all I have to pay the bills.

I’ve devoted my life to the arts, community service, and as a caregiver for my loved ones, all of which has largely amounted to unpaid labor. As a self-employed, creative writer, my job doesn’t come with a benefits package, a pension, or even a secure and steady income; but it’s my passion and what I do best in life, and I deserve to be paid fair compensation and receive credit for my creations.

For some of us, writing is a harmonious marriage between activism and art form. I can spend six months lovingly crafting a single sentence into what I hope will be a quotable aphorism that outlives me. It’s not okay with me for someone else to profit off of and take credit for my words, for your words, for anyone’s words, without fair compensation—especially when it’s so easy to simply give credit.

One of the best things to come of the unfortunate event of breaking the story about Mel Robbins and plagiarism, is that it’s creating better practices for us all: to be more thoughtful, kind, caring, generous, and considerate in giving each other credit for our work. It’s bringing back the conversation around plagiarism. Hopefully, it’s cementing the understanding that it is stealing and not just business.

Ultimately, if Mel Robbins is to leave a legacy behind, attached to the words “Let Them,” it may be because her actions of alleged plagiarism were what ultimately led to new rules and regulations against plagiarism. We need to protect writers from people who are doing what Mel Robbins is allegedly doing: usurping and profiting off of a movement that began with an unknown and not sharing credit or compensation.

Please follow along and read the full story … which is still in progress.

Part one: Mel Robbins and Plagiarism: Meet Cassie Phillips, the original author of Let Them

Part two: Can Mel Robbins Trademark Your Words? Let’s Find Out

Part three: Mel Robbins, Cassie Phillips & The Courage to do the Right Thing

Part four: Beware: This Book is Not by the Real Cassie Phillips

Part five: Public Pressure & Mel Robbins: You Helped Make this Happen

Part six: Usurped: Class Action Suit to Follow

Sage Justice is an award-winning poet, author, critically acclaimed performing artist, and intensely sincere, bold humanitarian activist.²

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1. Stephanie Peirolo, A.I. The Plagiarism Engine, Bring Back the Footnote

2. Photo of Sage Justice by Margot Hartford @MargotHatfordArt