Beyonce Knowles, her manager-father and Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams have all been slapped with a $200-million lawsuit that charges their 2001 hit song "Survivor" was stolen from a Miami-based producer, reports the Associated Press.
The producer, Terrence "T-Robb" Robinson, claims in papers filed in Houston, Texas, federal court on Oct. 14 that he delivered his June 2000 song "Glorious" to Mathew Knowles, Beyonce's father, and believed the tune would provide him with his big career break.
"I know right now I would be one of the biggest, most sought-after producers," Robinson, 32, said at a news conference Tuesday.
Robinson's lawyer, Peter J. Clarke, claims his client subsequently heard the song used in a commercial, without his permission. (The lawyer also said that Robinson did not copyright the song until after he allegedly gave it to Mathew Knowles.)
A lawyer for Beyonce Knowles, Thomas Sulkerson, told AP he had not yet seen the lawsuit, but said Destiny's Child filed a lawsuit earlier this month accusing Robinson of libel, fraud and breach of contract.
Mathew Knowles also notes that this is hardly the first lawsuit to make claims on "Survivor": "Three people have said they have either written or did the music or the lyrics were about them," he said. "So somebody has got to be lying."
Knowles is quoted by AP as saying he was not aware of Robinson until three weeks ago, when he informed Robinson that he had nothing to do with the track. He credited the lyrics to "Survivor" to Destiny's Child and the track's production to State of Mind Muzic producer Anthony Dent.
Sony Music and Columbia Records did not have an immediate response to the Oct. 14 lawsuit, nor did a management company for State of Mind Muzic.
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