Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been accused of not crediting a Jamaican artist for using her voice on their 2018 single “Black Effect.”
Lenora Antoinette Stines filed a lawsuit in California on Tuesday against the Carters seeking compensation for alleged copyright infringement, right of publicity and unjust enrichment.
The 68-year-old claims she was hired by the famous couple in March 2018 to recruit dancers for a video that would be used to promote The Carters album Everything Is Love and a tour. She says she was asked to share her thoughts on love in the video.
According to the statement of claim, when Stines “inquired into the terms of the agreement, 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.’”
Stines claims she asked if she could take a photo of the agreement to send to her son, a Florida lawyer, but was told she could not. She says she was told her voice “would only be used in the video, which was said to be for promotional purposes.”
When Everything Is Love was released, Stines found out – to her “shock, horror and chagrin” – that her voice is featured in the first minute of “Black Effect.” The lawsuit says Stines was left “feeling violated.”
She is seeking damages, legal fees and a cut of the publishing rights as well as a writer’s credit on the song.
The lawsuit describes Stines as “extremely well respected and highly regarded in the island of Jamaica, and throughout the world, for her artistry and wisdom.”
Reps for Beyoncé and Jay-Z have not yet commented on the lawsuit.