Beyoncé Slams Right Said Fred's "Erroneous" Claim She Didn't Ask for Permission to Use Their Song

Beyoncé shut down Right Said Fred’s “incredibly disparaging” claim that she sampled their song “I’m Too Sexy” without their permission. Read her response below.

By Tamantha Gunn Oct 07, 2022 3:04 PMTags
Watch: Beyonce CLAPS BACK at "I'm Too Sexy" Hitmakers' Sample Claims

Mess with Queen Bey and you might get stung.

Beyoncé is hitting back at Right Said Fred after the band, known for their 1992 hit "I'm Too Sexy," claimed the singer sampled the song for her 2022 track, "Alien Superstar," without their permission. 

Calling the group's claims "erroneous and incredibly disparaging," the "Break My Soul" singer, 41, guaranteed fans that authorization to sample the ‘90s track was granted by Right Said Fred's publisher.

"Permission was not only granted for its use, but they publicly spoke of their gratitude for being on the album," Beyoncé said in a statement to E! News Oct. 7. "For their song, there was no sound recording use, only the composition was utilized. Permission was asked of their publisher on May 11, 2022 and the publisher approved the use on June 15, 2022. They were paid for the usage in August, 2022."

Additionally, the Grammy award-winning artist also said the pop duo, which consists of brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass, have "co-writer credit" on her hit song, which appears as the third track on her album Renaissance, which was released in July.

photos
Beyoncé Celebrates 41st Birthday at Party With Kim Kardashian, Adele and More

Beyoncé's statement comes three days after Right Said Fred slammed the Ivy Park founder for sampling their song without asking them for clearance directly. 

"Normally the artist approaches us, but Beyoncé didn't because she is such an arrogant person," the brothers told The Sun Oct. 3. "She just had probably thought, ‘Come and get me,' so we heard about it after the fact when you did." 

Shutterstock/Getty Images

Right Said Fred said that other artists—including Drake and Taylor Swift—"came to us" when asking to use "I'm Too Sexy" in their music.

"To use our melody, they need our permission so they send us the demo and we approve it and if so, we get a co-write credit," the brothers continued. "With this Beyoncé thing, there are 22 writers. It's ridiculous, so we would get about 40 [pounds]."

read
Beyoncé Appears to Remove Kelis Sample From Renaissance Album Amid Controversy

However, the British duo admitted that they feel powerless against Beyoncé in this fight but vowed to move forward.

"We can't stop it. There is nothing we can do. It is s--t," they told the outlet. "You are going to get into a conversation with someone who has a lot more presence and power and money than we do. And that won't go well. It's best to let it go. If you're not careful you spend your life looking back. We keep looking forward the whole time."