Beyonce Knowles is facing a lawsuit over her "Lemonade" trailer from a sour indie filmmaker, who's accusing the singer of lifting it from his short film "Palinoia."
Matthew Fulks, who is also the creative director of WDRB in Louisville, Kentucky, reportedly sent out a link to "Palinoia" to a list of recipients that included Bryan Younce, who creates videos for the
chart-topping artist, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Younce reportedly requested a link to the film in July 2015, later acknowledged receiving the emailed "info," and invited Fulks to submit a treatment for consideration by Columbia Records.
Beyonce's extended music video experience "Lemonade" connected to her newest album, which was released April 23. It will air again on
HBO June 18, according to Vulture.com.
"The 'Lemonade' trailer is substantially similar to the 'Palinoia' work, including, but not limited to: the 'Palinoia' work's visual and auditory elements, visual and auditory sequences, themes, format, mood, setting, plot, and pace, all of which create a protectable total
concept and feel," the lawsuit states.
"The number of aesthetic decisions included in plaintiff's 'Palinoia' work that are parroted in defendant's 'Lemonade' trailer demonstrates that the 'Lemonade' trailer is substantially similar to the 'Palinoia' work. 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," the suit continues.
The album "Lemonade" includes the hit song "Formation," which has its own video with a similarly controversial history. Abteen Bagheri and Chris Black, director and producer of the documentary "That B.E.A.T.," accused the artist of using part of their film in her
"Formation" video without permission, CNN reported in February.
Yvette Noel-Schure, a representative for Beyonce, said at the time that the clips from the documentary were used legally, the news site noted.
"They were given proper compensation," Noel-Schure stated. "The footage was provided to us by the filmmaker's production company. The filmmaker is listed in the credits for additional photography direction. We are thankful that they granted us permission."
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