Beyoncé had the time today to clap back at “erroneous” claims by musical group Right Said Fred that she sampled their song without their permission.
Right Said Fred, a British pop group best known for their 1991 smash hit “I’m Too Sexy” that went No. 1 in an astounding 32 countries, called Queen Bey “arrogant” for using their song without speaking to them in advance.
Beyoncé spoke directly to the group and her fans in a statement obtained by The Sun about the song for her seventh studio album Renassiance.
“The comments made by Right Said Fred stating that Beyoncé used ‘I’m Too Sexy’ in ‘Alien Superstar’ without permission are erroneous and incredibly disparaging. Permission was not only granted for its use, but they publicly spoke of their gratitude for being on the album. For their song, there was no sound recording use, only the composition was utilized,” the statement reads.
“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. Furthermore, the copyright percentage of the Right Said Fred writers with respect to the use of ‘I’m Too Sexy’ is a substantial portion of the composition. Collectively the Right Said Fred writers own more than any other singular writer and have co-writer credit. This accusation is false.”
Right Said Fred, the duo comprised of brothers Fred and Richard Fairbras, said other major acts like Drake and Taylor Swift were courteous enough to at least notify them of their intentions to borrow their music.
“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. But everyone else, Drake and Taylor Swift, they came to us.”
