Fans anticipated Beyoncé’s one-hour HBO special following the release of her Lemonade trailer a week prior. The singer has been touring the U.S., giving her fans performances with a little taste of everything, from her old singles to new releases off her latest album. Unfortunately, its hype may have caused the famed singer a lawsuit.
Filmmaker and creative director, Matthew Fulks, has filed a lawsuit against the platinum-selling artist, Parkwood Entertainment, Sony and Columbia Records for “copied” ideas from his film Palinoia in her Lemonade trailer, Hollywood Reporter states. Fulks was able to point out nine similar concept features within the trailer.
“The number of aesthetic decisions included in Plaintiff’s Palinoia Work that are parroted in Defendants’ Lemonade Trailer demonstrates that the Lemonade Trailer is substantially similar to the Palinoia Work,” the complaint says. “The misappropriated content includes both the particular elements that the Plaintiff chose to comprise the Palinoia Work and the coordination and arrangement of those particular elements.”
Fulks claims the creation of the singer’s trailer may resemble a lot to his piece because a member of Beyoncé’s team, who has produced her previous videos, viewed his film in the past. Fulks says he was contacted to direct a video for the group, MS MR, who are signed to Columbia Records. Due to this opportunity, Palinoia was sent out to the camp, including Bryan Younce, who was credited on the singer’s 2013 album, Beyoncé, for creating videos. The lawsuit claims in July 2015, Younce requested Fulks’ email, and after accepting his invite, Younce asked Fulks to present a treatment and storyboard to Columbia.
The crew started filming Lemonade in December, five months after Younce and Fulks’ email.
The lawsuit contains side-by-side images of his work compared to scenes from Lemonade.
Hopefully Beyoncé can still celebrate the album recently going platinum amidst the rumors of the lawsuit.