Judge Denies Beyonce's Motion to Dismiss 'Formation' Lawsuit

(Radio.com) Beyonce's Lemonade song "Formation" was hailed as a powerful, assertive lead single from her groundbreaking album. The track opens with a spoken word sample from the late Anthony Barre (drag queen Messy Mya): 'What happened at the New Orleans. Bitch, I'm back by popular demand. Oh yeah baby. I like that."

Barre's sister sued Beyonce for sampling Anthony's work without permission. Bey filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on fair use grounds, but a judge has just ruled that the suit can proceed because the sample is "qualitatively significant," reports the Hollywood Reporter.

"Plaintiffs have plausibly alleged in their complaint that Defendants did not change or alter the 'expressive content or message' of Anthony Barre's YouTube videos, but rather used unmodified clips without adding anything new," wrote Louisiana Federal Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown. Read more here.