It is rare to hear of someone suing himself. So rare that no one has even bothered to form a word for it yet. Perhaps we could just call it “self-litigation.”

The obvious problem with self-litigation is that the plaintiff is also the defendant and, depending on the circumstances, the only witness. Then there’s the issue of representation. Do you hire one lawyer or two? Can you represent yourself, or is that a conflict of interest?

Despite its rarity and the possible complications, tales of self-litigation have been reported since at least 1899.

10 Curtis Gokey

In 2006, Curtis Gokey slammed Lodi, California, with a $3,600 lawsuit after a dump truck owned by the city crashed into his car. The lawsuit would not have raised eyebrows except that Gokey was the one driving the dump truck. It meant he was practically suing himself for an accident he caused.

The city turned down Gokey’s claim because he obviously couldn’t sue himself. The case did not end there, though. Gokey’s wife, Rhonda, took it up and sued the city and, by extension, her husband, for $4,800—$1,200 more than what her husband had asked for. Lodi city attorney Steve Schwabauer stated that this was also impossible.^[1]

Under California law, a husband and wife were considered as one. While the wife could sue for certain things like divorce, she could not sue for negligence, which was what happened in this instance. Rhonda claimed that she had every right to sue the city because their dump truck damaged her vehicle. In her view, whoever was driving it was irrelevant.

The city prevailed.

9 Oreste Lodi

In 1985, Oreste Lodi dragged himself to a California court over an estate he owned. According to Lodi, he had tried to retrieve from himself an estate that he owned and gave to himself to manage, but he refused to release it to himself. The court dismissed the case, but the determined Lodi appealed the decision.

He filed two briefs for the appeal, one supporting himself for wanting to retrieve his estate from himself and the other against himself for not releasing his estate to himself. Again, the court dismissed the appeal because the plaintiff and defendant needed to be different people. In this instance, Lodi would have been the winner and loser no matter what decision was reached by the court.

The court categorized the appeal as frivolous and initially considered whether Lodi needed to pay for filing a frivolous appeal. It later decided that each Lodi—the plaintiff and defendant—had to pay for the appeal. This means Lodi paid twice.^[2]

It remains unclear why Lodi sued himself, but it is suspected to have something to do with taxes. At the time he pressed charges against himself, he sent a copy of the litigation to the Internal Revenue Service.

8 Lothar Malskat

In 1952, an artist called Lothar Malskat sued himself for art forgery. The backstory could be traced to 1942 when Britain bombed Lubeck, Germany. The bombing destroyed almost every building in the city, including the Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church) that was built in the 1200s. The church sustained serious damage but its walls remained standing. The bombing revealed previously unseen Gothic frescoes that were hidden underneath its walls during construction.

After the war, the German government and the church commissioned Dietrich Fey, a famous art restorer, and Lothar Malskat, his assistant, to fix the frescoes. What Fey and Malskat never mentioned was that the frescoes had seriously deteriorated. They turned to dust on touch. However, the duo went to work and revealed what was initially thought to be the restored church paintings in 1951.

Everyone was impressed, and Fey and Malskat went on to do several other restorations. But Malskat was not content. Fey got all the credit for the restorations while Malskat got nothing. Fey also got the bulk of the money while Malskat received only a small portion, sometimes just one-fifth. This made Malskat reveal the fraud and, at the same time, sue himself for fraud.^[3]

No one believed Malskat until he pointed out that Mary Magdalene was not wearing shoes in the new painting even though she wore shoes in the original. The faces of the king and monks had also been replaced by those of random people, and a painting of an Austrian actress was added to the background. The frescoes also included some turkeys even though there were no turkeys in Germany in the 13th century.

The church removed the frescoes, leaving a small portion as a reminder of the forgery. Malskat received 18 months imprisonment for his involvement. He never got the fame he always wanted and remained a struggling artist until his death.

7 Robert Lee Brock

In 1995, Robert Lee Brock, who was serving time at the Indian Creek Correctional Center in Chesapeake, Virginia, sued himself for $5 million. However, he demanded that the state pay the damages because he had no money to give himself.

According to the lawsuit, Brock had drunk alcohol on July 1, 1993, which was against his religious beliefs. Besides, it made him commit a crime for which he was arrested. At the time that the lawsuit was filed, Brock was serving a 23-year sentence for burglary and grand larceny.

Judge Rebecca Beach Smith dismissed the case. While she agreed that Brock had been innovative in his approach to getting justice, it was ridiculous.^[4]

6 Larry Rutman

On August 5, 1996, the South China Morning Post reported that Larry Rutman of Owensboro, Kentucky, had sued himself for $300,000 and won. However, he will not pay himself a dime. The bills will be picked by his insurance company.

According to the news, Rutman was throwing his boomerang when it hit his head. The accident supposedly altered his memory and increased his sex drive.

Initially, Rutman wanted to sue the boomerang maker for the accident, but his lawyer told him to sue himself instead. He did and won. According to the judgment, Rutman was to pay himself $300,000 for causing “body damage through negligence and carelessness” to himself.^[5] As interesting as this incident sounds, there are claims that it never happened.

5 David Jennings

On January 8, 1899, The New York Times reported the story of David Jennings from Fort Scott, Kansas, who had sued himself and won. Jennings was the treasurer of Labette County, Kansas.

He sued himself after refusing to accept a tax payment he had made to himself. The tax was for a property that he used for his business. The court sided with Jennings and ordered that he should not force himself to pay any tax to himself.^[6]

4 John Fred Heiniger

On June 26, 1912, the Los Angeles Herald reported the story of John Fred Heiniger who had won a lawsuit he filed against himself to quiet title. “Quiet title” is legal terminology that refers to establishing a person’s title to a property while “quieting” any other claims or challenges to that ownership from others.

The newspaper did not provide any backstory about the case except that Heiniger had prevailed in court. Technically, this also meant that he lost the lawsuit.

Besides being the plaintiff and defendant in the case, Heiniger was also the only witness and the process server (the person who delivers or “serves” court papers to the defendant or others in a legal action).^[7]

3 Thomas Prusik-Parkin

In 2003, Thomas Prusik-Parkin sued himself while trying to fraudulently recover a house that he had lost after defaulting on a mortgage. The whole thing started in 1996 when his mother, Irene, transferred a house to him. Thomas took out a $200,000 mortgage on the property to start a business. The venture failed, and Thomas defaulted on his mortgage. The house was sold to Samir Chopra in 2003.

Coincidentally, Irene died the same year. However, Thomas gave the funeral director a fake social security number to keep Irene’s death hidden from the government. At the same time, he took the $700 she received from Social Security every month.

But Thomas did not stop there. He was not ready to lose the house, so he claimed that the deed transfer from Irene to him in 1996 had been forged—by him. Therefore, he argued that he couldn’t have legally taken out a mortgage on the house.

However, Thomas did not make the claim as Thomas but as Irene. To keep up the ruse, he sued himself for the forgery. To an outsider, it was Irene suing her son. But to Thomas, he was suing himself. At the same time, Chopra and (the real) Thomas dragged themselves to court, with each one accusing the other of fraud. Investigators became suspicious and did some digging. They discovered that Irene was dead.

To confirm their suspicions, they set up a meeting between Irene and Chopra. Interestingly, Irene attended the meeting. She was dressed in lady’s clothes, complete with painted nails and lipstick. She also had an oxygen tank.

However, investigators were not fooled. They were sure that Irene was dead and even had a picture of her tombstone as evidence. Apparently, Thomas was the one dressed in Irene’s clothing. The moment the scam was revealed, Thomas mentioned that he was his mother because his mother had died in his arms.

This was not the first time that Thomas had dressed up as Irene. Earlier, he had worn her clothes, wig, and sunglasses on a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew her license. He was handed a 13-year sentence on May 3, 2012. Mhilton Rimolo, Thomas’s accomplice who often followed the fake “Irene” to banks and pretended to be “her” nephew, received a three-year sentence.^[8]

2 Emert Wyss

In 2005, Illinois attorney Emert Wyss mistakenly sued himself. Three years earlier, his client Carmelita McLaughlin had purchased a house, which she later refinanced. However, the mortgage company handling repayment passed responsibility to another mortgage company, Alliance Mortgage.

Wyss saw an opportunity and advised McLaughin to sue Alliance Mortgage for what he called “illegal fees.” It was agreed that Wyss would receive 10 percent of the settlement paid to McLaughlin if the case was successful. Wyss only realized he was suing himself after Alliance Mortgage revealed that Centerre Title Company—which charged the fees that Wyss called “illegal”–was owned by Wyss.

The court determined that Wyss and the Centerre Title Company had to be parties to the lawsuit in order for the case to proceed. As a result, Wyss could no longer act as counsel for McLaughlin, so he quietly moved to the other side to become the defendant in a lawsuit he started. The judge later dismissed Wyss as defendant because he and the Centerre Title Company could be treated as different entities.

A move to sanction Wyss was abandoned after he agreed not to charge the Centerre Title Company any attorney fees. It didn’t matter anyway as he would have been the one paying himself.^[9]

1 Barbara Bagley

In 2015, 55-year-old Barbara Bagley sued herself over an accident she caused in December 2011. On the fateful day, she was driving in the Nevada desert when she crashed the vehicle. The impact threw her passenger and husband, Bradley Vom Baur, into a bush and seriously injured him. He died 10 days later.

Barbara demanded that the insurance company compensate her for the medical and funeral bills of her late husband. The insurance company refused. They argued that Barbara was not eligible for any compensation because she caused the accident. However, they were ready to pay for the car. A Utah appeals court ruled that Barbara could sue herself to receive compensation from the insurance company.

So Barbara (the widow and heir of the late Vom Baur) sued Barbara (the driver) for negligence. The complication of such legal action is that Barbara will need to provide evidence against herself to prove that she was negligent while driving.

She hired a lawyer to represent Barbara (the widow). Barbara (the driver) is represented by the insurance company’s attorneys because they would have to pay the judgment if Barbara (the driver) loses the case.

But that’s not all. Barbara is also the personal representative of her husband’s estate. That Barbara is also suing Barbara (the driver). So Barbara is two plaintiffs and one defendant in the same lawsuit.^[10]

As far as we know, the case has not been decided yet. But there is a bit of good news. The couple’s dog was in the car at the time of the accident. The dog ran away but was found almost two months later in good condition. No word on whether the dog is suing anyone.

Celebrities are loved by millions of people all over the world. We all have a favorite celebrity, someone we’ve never met but love. We watch their movies, or listen to their songs, and could spend hours talking about them. People set up blogs dedicated to them, write books about them, and they’re constantly in the news. But what happens when it feels like your favorite celebrity let you down? Or worse, actually hurt you?

Most of us would just be quietly disappointed, or complain on Twitter. “That sucks,” we’d say, and then move on with our day. Some people, however, feel that celebrities need to pay for disappointments and mistakes, and they resolve to use the court system to make it happen, whether the celebrity was actually in the wrong or not.

Without further ado, here are 10 celebrities who were sued, rightfully or wrongfully, by their own fans.

10 Skrillex

Concerts are a dangerous place to be sometimes. Between the packed, jostling crowds, the limited visibility, the strobing lights, and disorienting loud sounds, there’s numerous ways to find yourself injured. That’s exactly what happened to one fan in 2014, at a concert performed by famed DJ and dubstep artist, Skrillex.

Jennifer Fraissl was in the concert audience when Skrillex leapt off a DJ table up on the stage, allegedly landing directly on her and causing her to have a stroke! Though his attorney claims that the video of the incident clearly shows no contact between Skrillex and Fraissl, the jury tasked with the final decision in this lawsuit disagreed.

Fraissl was awarded a cool 4.5 Million in damages, divided up between Skrillex, his tour company, and the venue for payment.

Skrillex, to his credit, took it well, saying that his number one priority was making sure his fans were safe and having a good time.^[1]

9 Creed

Creed is a well known and well loved “dad rock” band, with tracks that have been featured in movies, played incessantly over the radio, and featured in at least one playlist we all had in our 20s. It’s reasonable to expect such an accomplished band to put on a fantastic show, right? The fans seemed to think so, which is why one 2003 concert was such a shock that it apparently required the response of a class action lawsuit!

In 2003, fans of Creed were shocked and a little horrified when frontman Scott Stapp stumbled out onstage, allegedly drunk and unsteady. He reportedly had severe trouble singing, and at one point actually passed out on stage, halting the concert. Needless to say, the 15,000 who showed up to watch creed play were incensed, some so much that they filed a lawsuit on behalf of everyone else at the venue!

They demanded a refund on the ticket costs (and hopefully an apology) for everyone who came to the show, as well as a refund on their parking, a total cost to the band of 2 Million dollars!

The judge, however, dismissed the case, saying that he was not “a rock critic” and that it would be a very bad idea for the arts to set a legal precedent for judging good art (or shows) from bad ones for the sake of lawsuits.^[2]

8 Lil’ Wayne

Even if you’re not into Rap, you probably know about Lil’ Wayne. From 2009-2014, he was a massive success in the rap world. Kids loved him, parents tolerated him, and fans were crazy about him. His explicit songs, whimsical lyrical twists and often hilarious rhymes shot him to the top of the charts.

In May of 2012, however, one fan wasn’t very happy with Wayne. Alfred Marino claims that, after getting into an argument with the famous rapper, one of Wayne’s ‘crew’ smashed him over the head with a skateboard! Marino had pulled out his phone with the intent of taking a picture of Lil’ Wayne after seeing him outside a shop in Los Angeles. After being told repeatedly to put his phone away (and being called a few nasty names) Marino alleges that Wayne’s bodyguard broke a skateboard over the back of his his head, knocking him out and leaving him with vertigo so severe he had to take medical leave from his job.

Marino was reportedly “disgusted” by Lil’ Wayne after the incident, and as a former fan, sued the rapper for the distressing and painful incident.^[3]

7 Justin Bieber

For a while, just about the most harmless celebrity you could imagine would have been Justin Bieber. The Canadian dreamboat was known for his sugar-pop love songs, big eyes, and irresistible charm. Girls of most any age swooned over him, spending tons of money on his merchandise, his albums, and most of all to see him live and in person at sold out concert venues.

At one such show in Oregon in 2010, Bieber set up an act for the concert that played off that very thing, climbing into a giant, heart-shaped metal gondola and being pulled over the crowd, leaning out to wave to the sea of fans below. In the crowd was Stacey Betts, a stay at home mother of five who had come to see the show with her daughter.

According to Betts, Bieber whipped the crowd of girls into such a frenzy with his waving that their screams reached “unsafe levels”, echoing off the metal heart and causing a “sound blast” that permanently damaged her hearing. She claims to have contracted tinnitus, a condition which causes constant, debilitating ringing in the ears. Betts also claims hearing loss and an overall lowered quality of life.

For her pain and suffering, Betts demanded a whopping 9 Million in damages.^[4] The case was ultimately dismissed.

6 Miley Cyrus

Many of us have fond memories of Miley Cyrus as her lovable, blonde alter ego Hannah Montana, the spunky country pop-star plastered across the Disney Channel schedule (and our hearts). The daughter of famous country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley was introduced to the entertainment business young and has stayed there pretty solidly ever since then. Those perfect wholesome beginnings have not, however, kept her out of trouble with the media, and with her fans.

In 2009, a photo surfaced on the web of Miley making a “Chinese eyes” face. Sitting with a group of her friends, Miley was seen in the photo pulling her eyes out to the sides along with others in the group. In fact, the only person in the photo NOT doing this was a young asian man who, it is alleged, was being mocked by the eye pulling.

The photo was deemed so offensive that it triggered a lawsuit. Los Angeles area woman Lucie J. Kim, alleging to have been personally damaged by the “discriminatory” photo, reportedly sued the Disney teen for $4 BILLION dollars! Not just on her own of course, but on behalf of the over 1 million Asian Pacific Islander’s living in the Los Angeles area.

For frame of reference on how out of this world a sum of 4 billion is, Miley’s entire net worth currently stands at only 160 million: roughly 4% of the requested pay.^[5]

5 Usher

Whether you’re a fan of Usher’s music or not, you’ve probably heard his name. From his involvement with Justin Bieber to being parodied on Family Guy, Usher has been around for a while, and in that time has made a name for himself as a talented musician and agent for up-and-comers.

It’s my unfortunate duty to tell you that Usher is also known for a less pleasant bit of publicity: a lawsuit filed against him in 2017 by three people who say that he gave them all herpes! Way to really screw it all up, Usher!

Quantasia Sharpton, an anonymous man, and another anonymous woman have banded together to sue the R&B star for allegedly giving them herpes (and they’re not talking about cold sores, either). Although he refused to make a public statement, Usher is known to have settled a similar lawsuit about the same allegations out of court for 1.2 million dollars in 2012. The unnamed plaintiff in the 2012 case is supposedly a former lover and celebrity stylist.

Sharpton and the anonymous duo sought unspecified damages and to have Usher cover their court fees.^[6]

4 Jessica Simpson

Serious question: can a paparazzo be considered a fan? They’re obsessive like fans, and they love to take pictures like fans, so for the purpose of this list, they probably count. With that in mind, let us look at the lawsuit against Jessica Simpson in 2018.

Outside a hotel in New York, Jessica Simpson was, as is often the case, ambushed by a paparazzo. A few photos were snapped, the paparazzo ran off, such is life for a famous person. However, a few hours later when the photo was posted to a rag site, Simpson copied it and pasted it onto her instagram. You’d think, being that it was a picture of her, she’d have the right. I mean, it’s literally her face!

According to the paparazzo and the media company that employed him, however, since the photo was taken by their employee, they own it, and Simpson actually stole it when she pasted it on her instagram.^[7]

The company alleges damages upwards of 20 thousand dollars. They may not legally own her face, but they sure are determined to make her pay for taking it back!

3 Snoop Dogg

Imagine for a minute you’re at a concert for your favorite artist. Elated at being near them, you rush the stage and go in for a hug. From the wings, as if waiting for you, several security guards swoop in and tackle you, causing major injuries.

That was the situation for Richard Monroe Jr, a Snoop Dogg fan violently tackled by security when he rushed the stage and attempted to hug Snoop in the middle of a concert. Monroe was knocked out and dragged offstage. He later woke on the ground backstage, his face swollen, lying in a pool of blood.

Monroe originally sued for 22 Million in damages, but was awarded just under 500 thousand after the jury determined that Snoop was not entirely to blame for the incident. Monroe also says that, after spending several days hanging out with Snoop during negotiations for a settlement, he feels very close with Snoop. He even went so far as to say that he felt happy when he saw Snoop in the courtroom, despite the circumstances.^[8]

2 Bon Jovi

As we all know, Bon Jovi is a very successful man. An ’80s star that still enjoys relevance and success today, Bon Jovi is clearly a man who needs no helping hands, ethical or otherwise. In fact, he’s still performing and touring to this day, and still putting out new music! So why would he need to steal a song?

According to one Samuel Bartley Steele, Bon Jovi did just that. In 2007, after releasing his song “I Love This Town”, Bon Jovi was hit with a stunning 4 Billion dollar lawsuit by Steele, who claims that Bon Jovi had somehow gotten his hands on Steele’s “country rock tribute” song to the Boston Red Sox (“Man I Really Love This Team”) and had passed it off to his record label as his own. At the trial, Steele even brought a musicologist to testify that they were the same song, only to be surprised when the musicologist testified that the songs were, in fact, nothing alike save for the words “love” and “this” in their respective titles.

His lawsuit was of course dismissed, but that didn’t stop him. Steele appealed the decision, hoping to take another run at the famous singer.^[9]

1 Taylor Swift

When you’re a pretty girl and your face is plastered across magazines, billboards, and social media almost constantly, you tend to attract a lot of strange people. Most are harmless, simply adoring fans who vie for your attention with gifts, stunts, and social media campaigns. What do you do, however, when you manage to attract a stalker?

In 2015, Taylor Swift had to answer this exact question as a fan went rogue and attempted to drag her into court to get her attention. Russell Greer, a long time Swift fan, wrote a song over the course of two years titled “I Get You, Taylor Swift” and send it to her agents, attempting to have it passed on to Swift herself. The agents were not allowed to pass the song on because of copyright concerns, and sent back polite but firm rejection letters.

Instead of taking it on the chin, Greer began sending mail and gifts directly to Swift’s family, begging them to give her the song. When that failed, he tried a new tactic: suing her to the tune of 7 thousand dollars for both neglect of duty and emotional distress. At first, it was couched simply as an attempt to get her attention, but when the lawsuit was dismissed and Greer, through statements made in the motion, found that Swift’s family considered his efforts “troubling” and “invasive”, Greer became openly hostile, and sued her a second time, this time for 50 Million, in another attempt to force her to acknowledge him.^[10]

Yikes! Let’s hope no other girls ever catch his eye quite like poor Taylor!

Sampling is what you call it when a musician takes a recognizable piece of music that already exists and incorporates it into their own song. The practice dates back to the 70s and Guinness gave the credit to 1971’s “He’s Gonna Step on You Again” as the first track to sample another.  This became hugely popular in early 90s hip hop and rap. 

The music from two of the biggest hits of that era, MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” were sampled from Rick James’ “Superfreak” and Queen/David Bowie’s “Under Pressure,” respectively. Neither was done with permission and, as we’ll soon see, that caused problems. Sampling and ensuing lawsuits have become something of a tradition in the music industry, and it seems almost no one is immune.

10. Nicki Minaj was Sued By Tracy Chapman For Sampling a Song Despite Being Told Not To

In 2018, Nicki Minaj released a song called Sorry that sampled lyrics and music from Tracy Chapman’s “Baby Can I Hold You.” Being that this was 2018 and well after many notable copyright claims had been made against many other musicians over the years. Minaj and her team were on the right track with this one.

Minaj’s people sent a request to Chapman for permission to use her song. She refused. Minaj’s people sent another request. And then several more. Chapman didn’t budge, she just didn’t want her song to be used like that. So Nicki Minaj did what anyone in the music industry would do. She used it anyway.

Despite not having permission, she recorded the song but didn’t include it on her 2018 album. Instead, the song was “accidentally” leaked to a DJ who got it on the radio. You know how it is, you’re walking along with your copyright infringing song and you trip and it falls onto Funkmaster Flex’s social media and radio show.

Chapman sued Minaj, and the case took two years before Minaj finally offered a settlement of $450,000, which Chapman accepted.

9. Biz Markie Lost the First Major Sampling Lawsuit Ever

Biz Markie was a larger-than-life name in hip hop and if you are familiar with him already, you know what that means. If not, maybe check out a video or two when you have a moment. He was goofy and weird but he was also very likable. That said, Biz Markie was at the center of sampling’s would-be downfall.

Prior to a 1991 lawsuit against Markie, sampling had mostly flown under the radar in the legal sense. But Markie was sued for sampling Gilbert O’Sullivan’s 1972 track “Alone Again (Naturally)” in his own song “Alone Again.” 

Markie had asked O’Sullivan for permission to use the sample but was turned down. He used it and released the song anyway and that’s what came back to bite him in the butt, legally speaking. O’Sullivan sued and refused to settle like all previous cases had done, and it went before a judge.

The judge raked Markie over the coals. He had to pay O’Sullivan $250,000, the studio couldn’t release the track or the album and then referred the matter to criminal court, accusing Markie of theft. It was a massive and terrifying blow to artists but more to studios who would bear the financial burden of future claims. 

Markie never got criminally charged but tons of already recorded tracks went unreleased or removed from circulation when rights couldn’t be acquired for the samples. This was the one case that changed how sampling worked forever and it showed that original songwriters were entitled to a cut of any profits from then on. 

8. MC Hammer Never Asked Rick James to Sample Superfreak in U Can’t Touch This 

Getting back to an example from the intro, MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” was a seminal song of the 90s and introduced a lot of suburban folks to the world of rap. Kids loved the peppy track but a lot of them had no idea that the catchy music was actually from Rick James’ 1981 hit Super Freak.

MC Hammer never got permission for his blatant sampling of the song’s baseline which is the entire musical backing to his release. James sued when he heard it and the case was settled out of course not just for money but for a songwriting credit. The result of that was James actually won a Grammy for “U Can’t Touch This”, the only one of his career, in 1991. 

As a co-writer, James was also entitled to profits from the song and it’s a safe bet he’s made a bundle from the royalties.

7. Vanilla Ice Settled With Queen and David Bowie for Sampling Under Pressure

Our other intro example is a little more famous and also more complicated. Vanilla Ice, also known as Rob Van Winkle, released his most famous track “Ice Ice Baby” in 1990. The bass line from the song was the famous bass line from Queen and David Bowie’s collaboration “Under Pressure.” Van Winkle infamously and embarrassingly tried to deny this, on camera, by demonstrating a difference between the two bass lines in a way that showed they were exactly the same. 

Ice went on to claim it was a joke but he was nonetheless sued by Bowie and Brian May from Queen. He ended up settling with them and, according to Van Winkle, he paid them $4 million as a result. But the story doesn’t end there.

In later years, Van Winkle claimed that he had actually bought the rights to the song “Under Pressure” because it was cheaper than paying out royalties to Queen and Bowie’s estate. That seems like it should wrap things up but Brian May later responded that this is not true either and that an “arrangement was made” that allows them to share the song. 

6. Chuck Berry Sued the Beach Boys for Surfin’ USA

Sometimes good intentions backfire and that’s what Brian Wilson learned when he wrote “Surfin’ USA.” The song was perhaps meant as a kind of tribute or homage to Chuck Berry and his song “Sweet Little Sixteen” which Wilson really liked. So, while not acknowledging it was wrong, he admitted to taking the music Berry had written and turning it into his own song.

Chuck Berry heard the song and didn’t take kindly to the obvious rip off, though word is he liked the song. His label contacted the Beach Boys and their manager, who was Brian Wilson’s father, handed over the rights to the song. 

In a devastating twist for the Beach Boys, not only did they get no royalties from the song,they didn’t know they were getting no royalties. It was 25 years before they realized they didn’t own the track and that Chuck Berry was credited as the writer.

5. Mr. Rogers Sued Ice Cube for Sampling His Theme Song

Imagine how terrible it must feel to get sued by Mr. Rogers. If you can’t imagine, try asking Ice Cube because it happened to him. 

The song in question was “A Gangsta’s Fairytale,” released on Cube’s first solo album back in 1990. The original intro to the song sampled the theme music to the Mr. Rogers TV show. As Cube himself put it, “It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood and all that.” Apparently Rogers ended up getting a nickel per record until the song was edited and that part was cut out.

Cube spoke about the lawsuit previously, mentioning that they asked for permission and got denied and still had to pay because they say his name at some point. 

4. Run DMC Sampled a My Sharona Riff and Got Sued by The Knack 20 Years Later

Run-DMC is hip hop royalty at this point, having paved the way for many acts that followed after their debut back in 1983. Among their many hits is the track “It’s Tricky” off of their third studio album, released in 1987. The song sampled the song “My Sharona” by the Knack, which was released in 1979 and became the band’s biggest hit.

Despite being released in 1987, the band The Knack had nothing to say about the sample for nearly 20 years.Them in 2006, they decided to sue Run-DMC for copyright infringement claiming they hadn’t heard of the song until 2005 and apparently no one pointed it out to them. They also sued iTunes and Napster and anyone else distributing the song. The case was settled in 2009.

3. Diddy Has to Pay Sting For His Massive Sampling of I’ll Be Watching You

After the death of the Notorious B.I.G in 1997, Diddy released a memorial track called “I’ll be Missing You.” That track unmistakably samples “Every Breath You Take” by the Police, the rights to which are owned by Sting. Despite being one of the most famous producers in the world at the time, Diddy didn’t think to seek permission before doing so.

Sting later claimed in an interview that Elton John first heard the song on the radio and called him and told him he was about to be a millionaire. For his part, Sting said he was getting a check from Diddy for $2,000 a day for the song. Diddy later clarified it was $5,000 per day. Then went on to say that was all a joke. Whatever the fine details are, it’s safe to say Sting made a lot of money off of the song. 

2. The Hollies Sued Radiohead Who Later Sued Lana Del Rey, All for the Same Song

Proving that no band is above sampling without asking, Radiohead was sued by the band The Hollies for lifting some of their music in Radiohead’s popular song “Creep”. In the 90s, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood approached Radiohead about the similarities between “The Air That I Breathe” and “Creep.” Both men ended up with a writing credit on “Creep” after a settlement was reached, giving them a share of royalties and the matter seemed settled.

Jump ahead to 2018 and Radiohead threatened to sue Lana Del Rey for her song “Get Free” which they feel ripped off “Creep.” Del Rey said on social media she didn’t consciously rip anything off but she offered 40% of the publishing rights but the band insisted on 100%, meaning they would get any money made off of the song and Del Rey gets nothing. Keep in mind, this is a song they acknowledged stealing from another band already, though they never explicitly had to admit to that.

The case was eventually settled though it’s unclear if Radiohead are now considered writers of Del Rey’s song, or if it’s the Hollies, or her alone. 

1. Too Much Joy Got Sued by Bozo the Clown for Sampling Him

No sampling lawsuit has ever come close to achieving the feat performed by a band called Too Much Joy. They didn’t get sued by another singer or band for stealing a track, they got sued by Bozo the Clown. 

Bozo was a TV clown, for those who only know the name. He was created in 1946 and was played by a number of different performers over the years including NBC weatherman Willard Scott. So he’s more of a character than a specific person in the makeup. 

Too Much Joy sampled a clip from Bozo, not a song, just him saying “And then I found something in one of my pockets. It was about as big as your shoe, but it was shaped like a rocket.” We can only guess at the context of Bozo saying that, but the band was using it for comedic value and Bozo didn’t take kindly to it.

The band got a cease and desist from Larry Harmon, who owns the rights to Bozo. They were ordered to stop pressing the album or face a lawsuit. The band was actually not going to release any more of the album anyway so they agreed and later found out that Bozo got $200 from the studio.