Miley Cyrus' Fears Over Dragging Ex Liam Hemsworth Into Copyright Case Revealed: Singer 'Freaking Out at Prospect of Making Cheating Claims About Actor Public in Bruno Mars Song Row'

Miley Cyrus is secretly panicking she'll be forced to admit ex-husband Liam Hemsworth was the inspiration behind her hit song Flowers after she was sued for copyright infringement.

The singer, 31, was hit with a lawsuit this week accusing her of copying Bruno Mars' 2012 single When I Was Your Man, which won her her first Grammy.

And RadarOnline.com can reveal Cyrus is worried she will have to confirm Hemsworth, 34, was the inspiration behind the track, which has been long-rumored by fans who believe Flowers was a diss track in response to his alleged infidelity.

Admitting Hemsworth's influence is said to be causing Cyrus more stress than the lawsuit itself.

A source told DailyMail.com: "Miley is not too concerned with the lawsuit itself, but everyone who knows Miley knows that this track was written as a way of healing from Liam."

The Hannah Montana star got engaged to Hemsworth in May 2012, before splitting 16 months later.

They reunited in 2016 and got married in December 2018, but divorced in January 2020.

The Witcher star Hemsworth reportedly dedicated When I Was Your Man to Cyrus back in 2013 – a year after the song's release – and is believed to have referenced Mars' track in their relationship.

They also played the song at their wedding.

The source added: "She wrote lyrics that were a reaction to Bruno's lyrics in Your Man, specifically because that was Liam's song to her. She only cared that he knew it was for him.

"Miley originally wrote it as a slow love ballad not the fast upbeat song that it became."

Cyrus is believed to be anxious about having to make confessions about the song "on record".

The source continued: "She is worried that she will have to reveal her inspiration for writing the song.

"While she has no issue stating it was a response to Bruno, revealing it was specifically about Liam publicly and on record is very unsettling."

Flowers also spent eight weeks at number one in the U.S. last year.

Around the time the song was released, Cyrus' fans spotted apparent similarities to When I Was Your Man.

In her song, Cyrus seemingly flips the lyrics from Mars' song: "I should've bought you flowers/ And held your hand/ Should've gave you all my hours/ When I had the chance/ Take you to every party/ 'Cause all you wanted to do was dance/ Now my baby's dancing/ But she's dancing with another man."

The lyrics to Flowers include the chorus: "I can buy myself flowers/ Write my name in the sand/ Talk to myself for hours/ Say things you don't understand/ I can take myself dancing/ And I can hold my own hand/ Yeah, I can love me better than you can."

The lawsuit was filed by Tempo Music, rather than Mars himself who has not been named as a plaintiff, who say they own a portion of When I Was Your Man purchased from co-writer Philip Lawrence.

The lawsuit states: "Any fan of Bruno Mars' When I Was Your Man knows that Miley Cyrus's Flowers did not achieve all of that success on its own.

"Flowers duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements of When I Was Your Man, including the melodic pitch design and sequence of the verse, the connecting bass line, certain bars of the chorus, certain theatrical music elements, lyric elements, and specific chord progressions.

It continues: "It is undeniable based on the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings that Flowers would not exist without When I Was Your Man.

"With Flowers, Cyrus, Hein and Pollack have created a derivative work of When I Was Your Man without authorisation."

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