Taylor Swift is facing a federal lawsuit over the title of her record-breaking 2025 album, The Life of a Showgirl. Las Vegas performer and writer Maren Wade filed the trademark infringement complaint in a California court on Monday, alleging the album’s title violates her long-standing “Confessions of a Showgirl” brand.

Wade is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order to block Swift and Universal Music Group from continuing to use the name. According to the court filing, the US Patent and Trademark Office previously rejected Swift’s application to trademark “Life of a Showgirl” for live entertainment services last year, explicitly citing potential confusion with Wade’s pre-existing registration.

Wade first launched “Confessions of a Showgirl” as a column for the Las Vegas Weekly in 2014. Over the past decade, she expanded the property into a podcast and a live stage production detailing the realities of working in the entertainment industry. She argues that the massive commercial footprint of Swift’s marketing is effectively swallowing her brand.

The complaint states that Swift’s continued use of the title has severely undermined Wade’s business identity, leading audiences to incorrectly assume the Las Vegas performer is the one imitating the pop star. Wade’s legal representative, Jaymie Parkkinen, noted that while they respect Swift’s success, trademark laws exist to protect creators at all levels from having their work overshadowed by larger entities.

Released in October, Swift’s 12th studio album shattered streaming records to become the highest-selling record of 2025. Neither Swift nor her representatives at Universal Music Group have publicly commented on the lawsuit.