Tom Petty Issues Statement on Sam Smith "Stay With Me," "I Won't Back Down" Songwriting Credit: "The Word Lawsuit Was Never Even Said"

It's been a week filled with controversy for Tom Petty and Sam Smith. On Monday (Jan. 26), Petty was given a songwriting credit on Smith's breakout In The Lonely Hour single "Stay With Me," due to similarities between that track and Petty's 1989 single "I Won't Back Down." And despite the flurry of media attention about the news, both Smith and Petty have dismissed the matter as really not a big deal.

Today (Jan. 29), Petty issued a statement about "the Sam Smith thing," saying that penning a song similar to another, older tune "can happen."

And like Smith, who called the debacle a "coincidence," Petty took it all in stride, saying he harbors no hard feelings toward the British star and that he was never going to sue.

"The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it," Petty said.

And, really - that's that. Nobody's mad. So little drama.

Read Petty's full statement regarding Sam Smith and "Stay With Me" below, via Petty's official website:

"About the Sam Smith thing. Let me say I have never had any hard feelings toward Sam. All my years of songwriting have shown me these things can happen. Most times you catch it before it gets out the studio door but in this case it got by. Sam's people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement. The word lawsuit was never even said and was never my intention. And no more was to be said about it. How it got out to the press is beyond Sam or myself. Sam did the right thing and I have thought no more about this. A musical accident no more no less. In these times we live in this is hardly news. I wish Sam all the best for his ongoing career. Peace and love to all."

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Tom Petty, Sam Smith