Judge Throws Out Filmmaker's 'LEMONADE' Plagarism Lawsuit Against Beyoncé

A New York federal judge threw out a plagiarism case brought against Beyoncé by a filmmaker for alleged similarities between her visual album LEMONADE and his 2014 short film Palinoia, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The case, originally filed back in June by independent filmmaker Matthew Fulks, alleged that Bey copied several elements of his film, including things like "overgrown grass" and "graffiti and persons with heads down." He also noted that he had sent the video to Columbia Records in the months leading up to the production of LEMONADE as an "audition" clip.

Bey's lawyers clapped back with a statement, saying LEMONADE was about “an African-American woman who progresses through stages of suspicion, denial, anger and, ultimately, reconciliation in her relationship”; while Palinoia is about a "white man who is distressed in the wake of a failed relationship."

The judge apparently agreed with Beyoncé. Although he hasn't released his full opinion yet, he has this to say: "Upon full consideration of the parties’ briefs and oral arguments, the Court grants defendants’ motion. A memorandum explaining the reasons for this ruling will issue in due course, at which time final judgment will be entered.” This means he evidently did not see enough merit in Fulks' argument to allow the lawsuit to go forward, a major win for Bey after the plagiarism accusations cast a bit of a shadow over the release of the project.

You can watch Palinoia below and decide for yourself whether there are enough similarities to merit the suit, or if the judge was right that it was frivolous.