Beyoncé and Jay-Z face a copyright infringement lawsuit in Los Angeles for allegedly using a monologue voiced by an uncredited Jamaican choreographer for their 2018 track “Black Effect” without permission, according to court papers obtained Wednesday.
What We Know:
In the suit, filed late Tuesday in federal court, dancer L ’Antoinette Stines alleges she spoke on tape of her feelings about “unconditional love” at the request of the celebrity couple. She contends she was told her thoughts would be used only in a promotional video.
Stines says she is renowned in Jamaica for “her artistry and wisdom” – and to that point, she says the Carters sought her out in March 2018 to provide dancers for a video promoting their upcoming tour. Beyoncé and Jay-Z then asked if she would record her musings for the clip, Stine alleges.
According to the lawsuit, she says she was shocked when she heard “Black Effect” – from The Carters’ Everything is Love album – because the whole first minute of the track is just her voice.
The documents claim a contract for her services was only thrust in front of her on the day of the shoot. When she inquired into the terms of an agreement she was asked to sign before recording her monologue, she alleges she was told that the agreement “was just a standard document that everyone had to sign”. She was then told not to worry because the agreement was “only going to be utilized so that her voice could be used in the video,” the suit advises.
Stines says that when she asked if she could take a screen shot of the agreement to send to her attorney son, she was “explicitly told that she could not send a picture of the agreement to anyone to review”.
Stines is suing the two mega-artists for copyright infringement and violating her right to publicity, and she is also seeking damages to the tune of $75,000. The Carters have yet to comment.
Dominique Browder is a Digital Content Creator for UnmutedCo. Dominique is creating news content for Black News Alerts website, social media and newsletter. She enjoys the freedom and loose structure at UnmutedCo and loves how she is able to gain a more hands-on experience. When she is not writing and researching content, Dominique lends her skills to empowering women.
Former NFL player Nate Burleson has officially made his hosting debut on the newly branded morning talk show, CBS Mornings.
What We Know:
It was announced earlier this month that Burleson would replace Anthony Mason. Previously Mason joined Gayle King and Tony Doukoupil as host of the former CBS This Morning. The show was rebranded in tandem to the relocation of their set to Times Square and Burleson joining the cast.
Since 2017, former NFL player Burleson has been the host of Good Morning Football on the NFL Network and has served as an analyst on The NFL Today on CBS. Burleson will continue his role on The NFL Today.
Burleson is the second former NFL player to join a network morning TV show, with Michael Strahan playing a major role as a co-host on ABC‘s Good Morning America.
Burleson credits Michael Strahan as the ‘blueprint’ for his career path, explaining, “He’s one of those individuals that I took a liking to once I retired because he rewrote the blueprint. I don’t want to say that he is the blueprint, because there has been plenty of players that have transitioned out of the game into TV. There have been African American men and women before him that have done the same thing, but he is a guy that has shown me the lay of the land, especially being a transplant from the West Coast to now New York.”
Polo G was arrested on in Los Angeles on Monday, TMZ reports.
What We Know:
According to the outlet, Polo G was arrested after police allegedly found a concealed firearm on the Hall of Fame rapper, which TMZ points out is a felony. The supposed discovery of the firearm occurred when a vehicle Polo G was a passenger in was stopped.
It’s currently unclear why the vehicle was pulled over in the first place but it was reported that a male juvenile was also detained during the stop.
Polo was similarly arrested while he was in Miami for his Hall of Fame album release party. The arrest, which took place back in June, resulted in the rapper getting hit with charges of of battery on a police officer, resisting arrest with violence, and criminal mischief. The rapper was also a passenger in a vehicle at the time of that arrest.
The couple announced the Grammy winner’s pregnancy in June at the BET Awards. The “WAP” rapper showed her baby bump in a sheer jumpsuit during a joint performance.
The couple welcome Kulture, 3, July 2018. Offset, 29, previously welcomed Jordan, 11, Kody, 6, and Kalea, 6, in previous relationships.
