Dancehall artiste Shenseea and Interscope Records have been given until January to respond to a lawsuit relating to the music video for the song Foreplay. The Court filings were revealed on Monday (December 19, 2022).
According to DancehallMag, a US-based visual artist Stephanie Sarley filed the pending lawsuit on October 21, 2022, in the US District Court of Central California. The plaintiff alleges that Shenseea’s Foreplay video includes about forty seconds of footage” from her “unique line of sensual fruit imagery” without her permission.
According to the court records which was obtained by DancehallMag, Shenseea and UMG Recordings, Inc (the parent company for Interscope) was served with the complaint on November 30, 2022. And UMG Recordings has agreed to respond to the lawsuit no later than January 20, 2023.
According to court records, Shenseea and Interscope are represented by the national law firm Ballard Spahr LLP, while Sarley is represented by California-based Pietz & Shahriari, LLP.
The plaintiff is seeking “an award of damages, including actual damages and the disgorgement of any gains, profits and advantages obtained by Defendants” or, alternatively, “for an award of statutory damages in an amount of up to $150,000” for each of her three “Original Works,” plus attorney fees, interest, and costs.
DancehallMag
The Foreplay video was first released in October 2019, after Shenseea signed with Interscope Records and Rvssian‘s Rich Immigrants in May of that year.
The music video was removed from YouTube after Sarley called out Shenseea’s alleged infringement on Instagram and threatened legal action.
In early December 2019, Shenseea released an edited version of the Foreplay video, devoid of Sarley’s fruit clips.