Shutterstock
Jamaican dancer and choreographer L’Antoinette Stines is suing Beyonce and Jay-Z for a vocal line used on the song “Black Effect”. The song appeared on their debut album Everything Is Love under their collaborative name The Carters. Stines claims that the power couple used her voice in their song without her permission.
Stines was contacted by the couple in March 2018 and was asked to help hire professional dancers for their ‘On The Run II’ tour. After hiring the dancers, Stines was asked to give her opinions on love for a recording. As she claims, they told her the clip would only be used for promotional purposes and nothing more. She signed a contract handed to her by the couple’s lawyers that stated the same thing: the recording would not be used for commercial purposes. Then she felt shocked and betrayed after listening to the song “Black Effect”, which uses her interview as a minute-long intro.
Stines has openly expressed how furious she is by the situation. She described her lack of credit on the song as being “artistically raped”. She’s suing Beyonce and Jay-Z for copyright infringement and violation of publicity rights. Through this lawsuit, she’s seeking royalties, a song credit and money for damages. The Carters still have yet to comment.
