Kendrick Lamar and SZA sued by Lina Viktor over All The Stars video
Musicians Kendrick Lamar, SZA, and Top Dawg Entertainment have been sued by BritishLiberian artist Lina Viktor for what she sees as plagiarism of her work in the video of All The Stars. The song is part of the album for the recently-released film, Black Panther.
Viktor says the production house first contacted her in 2016, and then again earlier this year, about the possibility of either using works from her Constellations series — which feature “stylised motifs of mythical animals, gilded geometric forms on a black background, and distinctively textured areas and patterns, arrayed in a grid-like arrangement of forms” — for Black Panther set, or possibly commissioning her to [come up with] new work to promote the film, reports nytimes.com.
Viktor ultimately declined. She says that’s the reason why she was shocked when friends began forwarding her the video for Lamar and SZA’s song, asking if she had ended up working on the project. The moment in question comes at 2:59 in the video, as Lamar wanders through a hallway covered in murals that appear to closely resemble larger versions of Viktor’s work.
Her lawsuit also contains a number of comparison photographs of the two pieces, some of which are indistinguishable to the naked eye.
Viktor is currently seeking “a minimum of a public apology for the unauthorised use and a license fee”.
Meanwhile, Lamar bagged the Best International Male Solo Artist at the 2018 Brit Awards on Wednesday night, beating contenders like Beck, Childish Gambino, DJ Khaled and Drake.
BRITISHLIBERIAN ARTIST LINA VIKTOR SAYS SHE WAS OFFERED TO BE CREATIVELY INVOLVED IN THE MUSIC ALBUM OF BLACK PANTHER BUT SHE DECLINED. SHE IS SHOCKED THAT LAMAR AND SZA’S SONG FEATURES WHAT LOOKS LIKE HER WORK