Beyonce surprised fans with the shock release of her brand new song 'Formation' this weekend, and the video has already attracted controversy after being accused of stealing footage. She has since responded to the claims - watch as the story developed below.
The 'Single Ladies' pop queen is currently gearing up to perform on stage with Coldplay at the Super Bowl - and was last week accused of 'cultural appropriation' through her appearance in the video for 'Hymn For The Weekend'.
The new video for 'Formation' shows Bey's impressive choreography spliced throughout the ages, across a myriad of scenes and cultures, including exotic locations, a flooded New Orleans landscape and beyond...
However, now directors Chris Black and Abteen Bagheri have taken to Twitter to accuse Beyonce stealing footage from their documentary, That B.E.A.T. - a film about NOLA bounce culture. They claim she's lifted clips without permission, and Black at least is pretty angry...
New Beyonce video used hella clips from the doc I produced and directed by @abteen ...but why?!?! https://t.co/RgWTUr1rtd
— chris black (@TheBlack) February 6, 2016
I guess it's flattering that people fuck with the things you've created but also frustrating when they wanna use it like it's theirs.
— chris black (@TheBlack) February 6, 2016
Why Melina gotta use clips from our doc?!? Was the budget not big enough to spend a week in New Orleans and actually build with the people.
— chris black (@TheBlack) February 6, 2016
The funny thing is that our doc is lowkey iconic so the audacity to rip and pass it off like we not gonna notice. You outta touch b!
— chris black (@TheBlack) February 6, 2016
At least credit the filmmakers that followed their passions and did the actual work.
— chris black (@TheBlack) February 6, 2016
if you're an artist, always protect your work. They don't know what you had to sacrifice to create.
— chris black (@TheBlack) February 7, 2016
Lol, your 500k budget wasn't enough to make your video "whole".
— chris black (@TheBlack) February 7, 2016
Co-director Bagheri added:
I'm not mad. It's the sad reality of the music business. Doesn't affect my friends' and my work, but not cool.
— abteen bagheri (@abteen) February 6, 2016
Now, Beyonce's people have denied the claims - issuing the following statement to Fader: "The documentary footage was used with permission and licensed from the owner of the footage. They were given proper compensation. The footage was provided to us by the filmmaker's production company. The filmmaker is listed in the credits for additional photography direction. We are thankful that they granted us permission."
