Beyoncé Refutes Uncredited Sampling Claims For ‘Renaissance’ Track

11 October 2022, 13:10

Beyoncé has responded to claims that she referenced 'I'm Too Sexy' without permission on 'Renaissance' – here's what she had to say...

Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ has been met with critical acclaim since it dropped in July, however, that hasn’t stopped the album plagued with claims of uncredited sampling.

The third track from the dance-pop record, ‘Alien Superstar’, has been hit with plagiarism claims by British duo, Right Said Fred.

The Changes Beyoncé Has Made To ‘RENAISSANCE’ Since Its Release

Beyoncé references the 1992 hit ‘I’m Too Sexy’ in the chorus of the song in question, changing the eponymous line to “I’m too classy”.

The band has accused the 41-year-old songstress of sampling the iconic chorus without consulting them first, but Bey refutes the allegation.

Kelis lambasts Beyonce and Pharrell for sampling song without permission

Right Said Fred – who are brothers as well as bandmates, Fred and Richard Fairbrass – spoke to the tabloids about the controversy and the typical protocol when it comes to sampling in the industry.

They said: “Normally the artist approaches us but Beyoncé didn’t because she is such an arrogant person she just had probably thought ‘come and get me’ so we heard about it after the fact when you did.”

Fred and Richard went on to explain that other artists had reached out before using their biggest hit, ‘I’m Too Sexy’ has influenced massive tracks such as Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ in 2017 and Drake’s ‘Way 2 Sexy’ in 2021.

“But everyone else, Drake and Taylor Swift, they came to us …,” they explained, "we can't stop it. There is nothing we can do. It is s***.”

However, Beyoncé’s representatives shut down the claims and followed up with the tabloid, calling Right Said Fred’s comments “erroneous” and “false”.

The statement read: “Permission was not only granted for its use, but they publicly spoke of their gratitude for being on the album.”

The musician’s reps even revealed the exact dates that the duo had liaised with Bey's team, stating that permission was asked in May 2022 and granted the following month.

“Collectively the Right Said Fred writers own more than any other singular writer and have co-writer credit. This accusation is false," the statement continued.

Right Said Fred are yet to respond to Beyoncé's reaction to their interview.

The Beyhive have even taken matters into their own hands, finding evidence of the band speaking positively about the sample before 'Renaissance''s release, therefore compromising their plagiarism claims.

In the weeks following the album's release, Bey was accused of interpolating Kelis’ ‘Milkshake’ in the song 'ENERGY' without her permission.

She was also criticised for using an ableist slur in the track 'HEATED', the word has since been changed and a new version of the song has been uploaded to streaming services.

> Here Are All The Ways You Can Listen To Capital