Leading Jamaican Choreographer Sues US Superstars Jayz And Beyoncé

KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 25, CMC – Dr. L’Antoinette Stines, the founder and lead choreographer of the renowned Jamaican dance group, L’Acadco, has filed a lawsuit against music superstars, Jay Z (birth named Shawn Corey Carter) and his wife, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, for her work on a 2018 album, by the Carters, called ‘Everything is Love’.

In court documents, filed last week Tuesday, Stines is reportedly suing the American superstar couple, who have four children together, for copyright infringement, and violation of her right to publicity, plus damages.

Dr. L’Antoinette Stines (forefront), the founder and lead choreographer of the renowned Jamaican dance group, L’Acadco, performs at a local concert. Photo credit: CMC.

Reports are that Stines also wants writing credits and monetary compensation. She claims the superstar duo — accomplished, successful songwriters and record producers — took her work, used it on a key portion of the track, ‘Black Effect’, without giving her any credit or money. She says that the experience had left her feeling “artistically raped”.

She told the court that the super-couple — who were married on April 4, 2008, and are worth a combined, reported total of US$1.4 Billion (In June 2019, Forbes magazine named Jay-Z the first billionaire rap artist) — reached out to her in March of 2018 seeking local dancers to perform in a promotional video for a tour.

In court documents, Stines related that after finding local dancers, she created a recording and was told that it would only be used for promotional purposes — and she signed a contract giving them permission for that specific use only — but instead, it ended up being used on a key portion of their track.