Kendrick Lamar and SZA have reportedly reached a settlement in the “All The Stars” video lawsuit. According to documents obtained by The Blast, court papers filed on December 21 reveal the TDE artists have come to an agreement with artist Lina Iris Viktor to drop the lawsuit against them.
Subsequently, all claims have been dismissed and the entire case is closed.
Back in February, Viktor accused K. Dot and SZA of stealing her artwork used in the video for the Black Panther track.
Viktor claimed three of her paintings — “Constellations I,” “Constellations II” and “Constellations III” — were replicated and used for the visual despite previously denying them permission.
Kendrick and SZA asked for the lawsuit to be tossed out in July, claiming Viktor’s artwork had nothing to do with the video’s success. They said it was Kendrick’s “worldwide popularity as well as numerous accolades, including a Pulitzer Prize and dozens of Grammys” and the film’s cultural impact that made “All The Stars” a hit.
The visual was released on February 6 of last year and has since racked up over 183 million YouTube views.
Revisit the “All The Stars” video below.
[This article has been updated. The original version was published on July 13, 2018 and can be found below.]
Following the release of Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s video for “All The Stars,” artist Lina Iris Viktor claimed they stole her artwork for the visual roughly six months ago. Subsequently, she filed a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Now, the TDE superstars reportedly want that suit thrown out. According to TMZ, Lamar and SZA filed new legal documents explaining that even if they did use 19 seconds of Viktor’s artwork, that’s not what made the song so profitable.
They say it’s K. Dot’s “worldwide popularity as well as numerous accolades, including a Pulitzer Prize and dozens of Grammys” that made the song a success. They also reportedly give credit to the massive cultural impact of the Black Panther film.
“All The Stars” was included on Black Panther: The Album, which was curated by Lamar and TDE’s Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith.
The scene Viktor has an issue with begins at the three-minute mark and wraps up at the 3:18 mark. She says the gold and black artwork in the background — titled the “Constellations Collection” — belongs to her.
In May, Lamar and camp denied stealing Viktor’s work in court docs filed by their attorneys. [apple_news_ad type=”any”]
F****** SHamless, so even if I stole your work, I am famous so shut up….that is the case Kendricks/Interscopes lawyers are using to justify taking someone’s artwork????
That’s Real Talk. If it were 18 seconds of SZA singing or Kendrick rapping in any video, let alone one tied to Black Panther without permission, guaranteed the lawsuit would be going the other way. Copyright Rights are rights.
FUCK TDE FOR THIS
TDE team stole the Blacker the Berry artwork from another artist, and then removed it, swiftly, once a potential lawsuit propped up. They would’ve done better to collaborate with the artist, and reap the rewards than blatantly plagiarise.
People never truly read into the full story. First off, here is her reasoning, “The Infringing Video and the Movie promotes (and profits from) themes of black and female empowerment and the end of racist and gender exploitation, themes particularly topical in the current environment,” Viktor’s complaint says. “Yet, in a bitter irony, the Defendants have ignored the wishes of the artist, herself a black African woman, whose life’s work is founded on an examination of the political and historical preconceptions of ‘blackness,’ liberation, and womanhood.” How was this exploited? Guys this was a money grab, plain and simple. That’s why there was a settlement. She probably wasn’t offered the amount she was expecting and then declined. Africans vs African Americans…SMH
The problem with kids today is they don’t understand how success and art works. They think Kendrick is stealing art from some unknown megalomaniac and Drake is a culture vulture when he jumps on a track with an unknown artist. This is the way art has always been made. Blondie borrowed from street/hiphop culture in the Bronx. Michael Jackson stole the moonwalk from breakdancers. Bob Marley manipulates blues and doo wop to inform his reggae just Andy Warhol took Campbell soupcans and called it art. Kanye west didn’t event chimpmunk soul samples and anyone who knew daft punk / Curtis Mayfield weren’t as impressed with his sampling techniques. Art is subjective and collaborative by nature. It’s based on what surrounds you and what came before. If you don’t see the original references and influences in your favourite artist, it’s simply because you are lacking in depth so you don’t know the influences. Kendrick did nothing wrong. She wouldn’t be famous otherwise. Get over it.