Beyonce ‘Lemonade’ Lawsuit Dropped: Judge Sided With Bey Over Filmmaker Matthew Fulks, Who Said The Singer Ripped Off His Work
Beyonce just had a big win in the courtroom. Queen Bey’s Lemonade lawsuit case was dropped and the judge sided with her over Matthew Fulks. The filmmaker sued Knowles-Carter claiming that the singer had ripped off his work.
The lawsuit was tossed, but the reasons for the judge’s decision to reject the suit have yet to be known, according to TMZ.
Matthew Fulks sued Beyonce in June after the release of her visual album Lemonade, claiming that the trailer completely ripped off his 2014 short film, Palinoia.
Fulks alleged that Columbia reached out to him about directing a music video. The filmmaker sent over links to his short film, and five months later, he claimed that filming for Lemonade began.
Defendants include Sony Music, Columbia Recording, and Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment.
Fulks’ film also depicted a “tumultuous relationship.”
The filmmaker was specifically ticked off at the similar slew of images when the characters are in front of graffiti-covered walls, dimly-lit parking garages, and closeup shots of “overgrown grass.”
Fulks claimed that Beyonce had seen Palinoia sometime in 2015 and that he had connections with a senior VP at Columbia Music, her label. Fulks was convinced that Bey had stolen his ideas for Lemonade and believed he deserved a cut of the profits.
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Beyonce vehemently denied Fulks’ claims and argued her work depicted a “proud black woman” who was distinctly different than Fulks’ film, which revolved around a depressed white guy.
In the documents obtained by TMZ, Beyonce specifically points out the clear differences in the two pieces.
Beyonce’s lawyer, Tom Ferber, maintained her innocence throughout the three-month saga and released this statement from the singer last month. Ferber also downplayed the comparisons of the two videos by showing more than a dozen side-by-side images from both films.
“Lemonade portrays an African-American woman who progresses through stages of suspicion, denial, anger, and, ultimately, reconciliation in her relationship.
“Palinoia is about a white man who is distressed in the wake of a failed relationship.”
Beyonce is an artist who takes a lot of pride in the originality and creativity of her work, and she was not about to let anyone else take credit for the piece of work that was so near and dear to her heart.
Beyonce recently performed a rendition of the entire Lemonade album at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards last Sunday, August 28. Fans were super excited for Beyonce’s VMA performance, which had been kept a secret until just hours before the show.
The singer left the audience and viewers at home in awe as she took the stage to belt out her ballads “Pray You Catch Me,” “Hold Up,” “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” and “Sorry.”
Beyonce made a statement that evening before her performance began. The Queen of pop arrived at Madison Square Garden with the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, and Michael Brown, all of whom were killed in racially charged incidents with the police.
Beyonce walked in that evening with 11 VMA nominations and took home several wins, including the highly coveted Video of the Year award for “Formation.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDTip6cfPMY
[Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images]
