Cher won a copyright lawsuit against the widow of her former husband, Sonny Bono. The 78-year-old singer filed a lawsuit against Mary Bono in October 2021 over a dispute related to royalties for songs she recorded with Sonny & Cher. On May 29th, a California judge ruled that the star is entitled to over $418,000 in unpaid royalties, according to PEOPLE.

In 1978, shortly after her divorce from Sonny, Cher and Sonny agreed that the singer would receive a 50% stake in their Sonny & Cher publishing catalog. When Sonny died in 1998, Mary was appointed as the trustee of his estate, and she and his four children (referred to collectively as the «heirs») entered into a partnership regarding the songs.

Wixen Music Publishing joined the case in 2011, and according to Cher’s initial complaint, the company «collected and paid out» her share of royalties in subsequent years.

However, in 2016, Mary, who was 62 at the time, invoked the Copyright Act’s «termination rights» provision, which allows songwriters or their heirs to reclaim control of their publishing rights in the United States after 35 years. Cher claimed that the heirs terminated the agreement without her «knowledge or participation.»