Beyoncé lawsuits mostly cluster around one thing: copyright and sampling claims tied to her albums. A smaller set covers a collapsed video game deal, concert injuries, a website accessibility class action, and a former drummer’s harassment petition. As of early 2026, the only active case against her production company is a federal copyright suit filed in July 2025 over the Renaissance track “Alien Superstar.” Parkwood Entertainment has called that claim “meritless.”
The Active Case: “Alien Superstar” Sampling Suit
On July 29, 2025, Shuji Hirose, founder of the indie label Soundmen on Wax Records, sued Parkwood Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell, and dance musician John Holiday (who records as Foremost Poets and Johnny Dangerous). Beyoncé herself is not a named defendant.1Billboard. Beyonce Alien Superstar Lawsuit Company Sued Sample
Hirose alleges the intro of “Alien Superstar” uses an unauthorized sample from Holiday’s 1998 track “Moonraker.” According to the complaint, Hirose bought all copyrights to “Moonraker” from Holiday for $1,500 in 1998, meaning Holiday no longer held the rights he later licensed to Beyoncé’s team. The suit brings claims for copyright infringement and breach of contract, and Hirose is seeking a share of royalties and profits from the song.1Billboard. Beyonce Alien Superstar Lawsuit Company Sued Sample
Parkwood moved to dismiss on December 17, 2025, saying it properly licensed the sample from Holiday for $10,000 plus a 0.5% royalty share and that Hirose has produced no documentation showing the copyrights ever transferred to him. Sony and Warner Chappell are supporting the motion. The case remains pending.2RadioX. Beyonces Company Parkwood Fights Alien Superstar Sample Lawsuit Meritless
Renaissance Sample Disputes That Never Became Lawsuits
Two other Renaissance controversies get talked about as lawsuits but never were. Shortly after the album’s July 2022 release, Fred and Richard Fairbrass of Right Said Fred publicly accused Beyoncé of using the melody from their 1991 hit “I’m Too Sexy” on “Alien Superstar” without asking, and called her “arrogant.”3Variety. Beyonce Hits Back Right Said Fred Claim Permission Im Too Sexy Interpolation Alien Superstar Because the track uses an interpolation of the composition rather than the original recording, clearance had to come from the publisher, not the band. Beyoncé’s representatives said they requested permission from the publisher on May 11, 2022, received it on June 15, 2022, paid the brothers in August 2022, and gave them a co-writer credit representing a larger share of the composition than any other individual writer on the song.4Nylon. Beyonce Right Said Fred Im Too Sexy Sample Renaissance Alien Superstar The band’s own Twitter account had posted on July 22, 2022, “It’s nice to get a writing credit on the new Beyoncé album.”5ABC7. Right Said Fred Im Too Sexy Beyonce New Album Renaissance Alien Superstar No suit followed.
Around the same time, Kelis accused Beyoncé of using her 1999 track “Get Along With You” on the song “Energy” without notice, calling it “theft” and saying, “I’m coming for what’s mine and I want reparations.”6Billboard. Kelis Beyonce Milkshake Energy She never sued. Legal analysts noted she lacked standing: because Kelis is not a credited songwriter on “Milkshake” or “Get Along With You,” she does not own the publishing copyright that controls composition use. Vanderbilt law professor Joseph Fishman told Billboard, “If Kelis does not own a copyright on the song, she has no claim.” Beyoncé nonetheless removed the interpolation from the track.7AV Club. Beyonce Removes Kelis Interpolation From Renaissance
“Break My Soul” Suit (2024)
In May 2024, the New Orleans bounce group Da Showstoppaz — Tessa Avie, Keva Bourgeois, Henri Braggs, and Brian Clark — sued Beyoncé, Big Freedia, Jay-Z, producer Adam Pigott, and Sony Music in the Eastern District of Louisiana. The group said Big Freedia’s 2014 single “Explode” copied the phrase “release a wiggle” and related lyrics from their 2002 song “Release a Wiggle,” and because “Break My Soul” samples “Explode,” both songs infringed. They sought co-writing credits, royalties, and damages.8USA Today. Beyonce Jay Z Big Freedia Copyright Infringement Break My Soul Release a Wiggle Da Showstoppaz voluntarily dismissed the case on August 8, 2024, less than three months after filing. Court filings contained no mention of a settlement.9Rolling Stone. Beyonce Break My Soul Sample Lawsuit Dropped
“Formation” and the Messy Mya Estate
The estate of Anthony “Messy Mya” Barré, a New Orleans YouTube personality murdered in 2010, filed a $20 million suit against Beyoncé, Sony Music, and Jay-Z over roughly 10 seconds of audio from two of Barré’s videos used in the song and visual album “Formation.”10Forbes. Beyonce Sued for 20 Million by the Estate of Anthony Barre Messy Mya Over Formation Beyoncé’s attorneys argued the clip was either fair use or already properly licensed. A court in the Eastern District of Louisiana denied the motion to dismiss, ruling the estate had plausibly alleged the use lacked a transformative purpose. The case never reached trial. On February 5, 2018, the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice; the terms remain confidential.11George Washington University Law School – MCIR. Barre v. Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Sony Music Et Al
“Lemonade” Copyright Claim
Independent filmmaker Matthew Fulks sued Beyoncé in 2016 in the Southern District of New York, alleging the Lemonade visual album and trailer copied nine elements from his short film Palinoia, including images of “graffiti and persons with heads down,” a parking garage setting, and “side-lit ominous figures.”12Billboard. Beyonce Lemonade Lawsuit Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the case on September 12, 2016, ruling the elements Fulks cited were “unprotectable ideas” rather than copyrightable expression. Rakoff noted the two works had “staggering differences” in story — Palinoia centered on a white man after a breakup, Lemonade on a Black woman moving through stages of grief after infidelity — and called any visual overlap “superficial.”13SDNY Blog. Judge Rakoff Dismisses Copyright Claims Against Beyonces Lemonade
Gate Five Video Game Suit
In April 2011, the video game developer Gate Five sued Beyoncé in New York for $100 million over a collapsed motion-sensing dance game called Starpower: Beyoncé. Gate Five alleged Beyoncé walked away “on a whim” and made last-minute demands for a larger profit share, causing a key financier to pull out and forcing the company to lay off 70 employees. The company said it had spent $6.7 million on development and projected $100 million in profit.14Hollywood Reporter. Beyonce Settles 100M Lawsuit Video Beyoncé countered that her contract let her terminate because Gate Five had failed to secure $5 million in committed financing.15Billboard. Beyonce Settles 100 Million Lawsuit With Gate Five Video Game The case settled in June 2013 on confidential terms, described by a Gate Five attorney as “amicable.”16New York Daily News. Beyonce Reaches Settlement With Game Developer in 100 Million Suit
Sphere Cease-and-Desist Over Tour Visuals
In May 2025, Sphere Entertainment Group sent a cease-and-desist letter to Parkwood over a Cowboy Carter tour interlude video that showed a computer-generated image of the Las Vegas Sphere being picked up and juggled by Beyoncé. SEG called it an “unauthorized use” of its intellectual property and said the imagery fueled inaccurate speculation about a Sphere residency, noting that previous negotiations about a possible performance there had never produced permission for this depiction.17Rolling Stone. Beyonce Cease Desist Sphere Cowboy Carter Tour Beyoncé did not contest the letter. Within days, on the third of five nights at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the tour visuals were updated to replace the Sphere with Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where the tour was headed in July 2025.18Variety. Beyonce Replaces Sphere Cowboy Carter Tour Visuals Cease and Desist
Website Accessibility Class Action
In January 2019, Mary Conner, a legally blind woman, filed a class-action suit against Parkwood alleging Beyonce.com violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. The complaint described the site as an “exclusively visual interface” that lacked coded alt-text, accessible drop-down menus, and keyboard navigation for visually impaired users. Conner sought an injunction requiring accessibility fixes plus compensatory damages for class members.19Hollywood Reporter. Beyonces Parkwood Entertainment Sued
Former Drummer’s Restraining Order Petition
In September 2018, Kimberly Thompson, who had drummed for Beyoncé for seven years, petitioned Los Angeles Superior Court for a civil harassment restraining order. Thompson alleged Beyoncé engaged in “extreme witchcraft” and “magic spells of sexual molestation,” tapped her phone, controlled her finances, and killed her pet kitten.20Newsweek. Former Drummer Kimberly Thompson Accuses Beyonce Extreme Witchcraft The court denied the request for a temporary restraining order on September 19, 2018, and no further legal action has been publicly reported.21Pitchfork. Beyonces Ex-Drummer Files for Restraining Order Alleging Extreme Witchcraft
Concert Injury Suits
At least two personal-injury cases have followed Beyoncé concerts. In 2014, Raquel Castellanos and Gabriella Davidson sued Beyoncé, the United Center, and Live Nation after being trampled during a general-admission rush at a December 2013 “Mrs. Carter Show” concert in Chicago. Castellanos broke an ankle; Davidson was knocked unconscious.22Chicago Tribune. 2 Oak Park Women Injured at Chicago Beyonce Concert Lawsuit Says
Separately, Patrick and Yolanda Saavedra sued the City of Pasadena, the Rose Bowl, and security contractor Contemporary Services Corp. after Patrick lost part of a fingertip when another fan bit him during an altercation at the Beyoncé and Jay-Z “On the Run” concert in August 2014. That case settled in June 2018 on undisclosed terms.23NBC Los Angeles. Couple Reaches Settlement in Beyonce Concert Fan Injury Case
The Jay-Z Defamation Case Is Not a Beyoncé Case
A related legal fight sometimes lumped in with Beyoncé’s involves Jay-Z alone. In March 2025, he filed a defamation suit in the Southern District of Alabama against an anonymous woman, attorney Tony Buzbee, co-counsel David Fortney, and the Buzbee firm, following a December 2024 complaint accusing him of a 2000 sexual assault that the accuser voluntarily withdrew on February 14, 2025. Jay-Z alleges the defendants fabricated the claims for a “financial windfall,” citing at least $20 million in business losses to Roc Nation.24Courthouse News. Jay-Z Files Defamation Suit Against Accuser in Dropped Sex Assault Case25BBC. Jay-Z Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Rape Accuser A separate, earlier Los Angeles suit Jay-Z filed against Buzbee alleging extortion and defamation was dismissed by a judge on July 1, 2025. The Alabama case remains active as of mid-2026.26New York Times. Jay-Z Tony Buzbee Lawsuit Dismissed Beyoncé is not a party to either matter.