Taco Hemingway gains Ombudsman support in legal dispute over song lyrics

The Polish Ombudsman has intervened in a legal dispute involving rapper Taco Hemingway and the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate (GIF). The conflict stems from the artist's song ‘Zakochałem się pod apteką’, which mentions the painkiller Solpadeine.

The GIF previously ruled that the mention of the medication constituted illegal advertising, claiming the lyrics ‘romanticized’ medicinal products and could normalize risky behavior. As a result, the song was released in a modified version with the drug name silenced.

The Ombudsman, Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram, has filed a motion with the Warsaw Voivodeship Administrative Court to support Hemingway’s appeal. She argued that the GIF applied an ‘extremely unfavorable interpretation’ of the lyrics, noting that the artist has no ties to pharmaceutical producers and even references the drug's potency and safety in the song. The Ombudsman stated that allowing the GIF to maintain its decision would grant a regulatory body the power to define the boundaries of artistic freedom, a role she believes belongs to the legislature.