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Beyonce Sued Over ‘Lemonade’ Video? See The Short Film That’s Causing All The Fuss [Video]

By Jessica Dafoe
Published on: 00:52 PST, Jun 9, 2016

Beyonce garnered massive amounts of attention when she unveiled her video for Lemonade regardless of the fact that she did not lead up to the reveal with much hype of any kind. However, the songstress released a trailer to the main video and album, which is now at the center of controversy.

A week prior to Lemonade dropping, along with an HBO special, Bey posted a trailer video to YouTube. A new lawsuit filed in New York claims that the trailer is a copy and was taken without permission from a short film titled Palinoia.

Matthew Fulks, who indicates that he is an independent filmmaker and creative director at WDRB, states that “he conceptualizes, writes and directs TV advertisements for the Louisville, Kentucky-based news station,” the Hollywood Reporter notes.

The claim by Fulks includes a theory by the filmmaker where he attempts to determine how defendants Sony Music, Columbia Records and Parkwood Entertainment got access to the short film to use for Beyonce’s trailer.

The publication relays the theory Fulks insists is the manner Palinoia fell into the record companies’ hands.

“Fulks says he was contacted about the opportunity to direct a video by the Columbia-signed musical group MS MR, and as a result, links to ‘Palinoia’ were sent to others including Bryan Younce, who has created videos for Beyonce and has been credited on her self-titled 2013 album. The lawsuit claims that in July, 2015, Younce requested Fulks’ email and that later he send the plaintiff a note acknowledging that he had received his “info” with an invitation to submit a treatment for consideration by Columbia.”

It was five months following this that the filming of Lemonade began, and Fulks is not at all pleased with the recording artist and the record companies for ripping off his short film. The complaint by the filmmaker and creative director makes note of all similarities that are clear between the trailer and Palinoia.

“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 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 complaint cites that in the 60 seconds of the trailer video, there are 39 seconds that involve striking similarities to his short film. Although the similarities are non-linear in occurrence, Fulks notes the elements that are present in both films. These include “graffiti and persons with heads down,” “red persons with eyes obscured, “a parking garage,” “stairwell,” “black and white eyes,” “title card screens,” “grass scene,” “feet on the street,” “side-lit ominous figures,” which have all led to the claim that the trailer is undeniably similar to his own short film.

Attorneys Amy Cahill and Robert Clarida of Cahill IP also claim that there are similarities in the auditory elements of the trailer versus the short film. The suit involves a graphical document to demonstrate this similarity.

The independent filmmaker insists on receiving all profits from the sales of the Lemonade album that can be attributed to the ripping off and exploitation of his own work. Parkwood Entertainment has yet to respond to any sort of request for comment over the lawsuit filed by Fulks in regards to Beyonce’s latest album and trailer.

The new album certainly had the masses talking when it came to the nature of the lyrics, which suggested infidelity on the part of Beyonce’s rapper hubby Jay Z. As Movie News Guide shared, the drama led to full disclosure by the couple.

[Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for People.com]

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