Cher forced to pay legal fees after winning royalty battle
Pop icon Cher has secured a major legal victory against her late ex-husband’s widow over music royalties, but the win has arrived alongside an expensive setback that leaves the singer absorbing over $1 million in legal fees.
The long-running dispute stems from a multi-year courtroom battle between Cher and Mary Bono, the widow of her former musical partner and ex-husband, Sonny Bono. Following their 1978 divorce, Cher was granted a permanent 50 percent stake in the composition and recording royalties generated by the iconic duo’s music catalog, including timeless classics like “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On.”
However, tension flared in 2016 when Mary Bono attempted to invoke termination provisions under federal copyright law, which allow original creators and their surviving heirs to reclaim copyright grants after a specified window of time. Relying on this provision, royalty payments to Cher were eventually halted in 2021, prompting the singer to file a lawsuit in federal court to enforce her long-standing rights.
In late 2025, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt ruled decisively in Cher’s favor, affirming that her right to receive a share of the song royalties was a binding contractual obligation established during her 1978 divorce settlement rather than a copyright grant subject to termination. As part of that decision, Cher was awarded over $418,000 in withheld composition royalties, confirming her ongoing entitlement to collect her share directly.
Following that victory, Cher’s legal team filed a motion seeking to recoup $1,023,605 in attorney fees from Mary Bono, arguing that the widow had unnecessarily prolonged the litigation by introducing frivolous defenses. However, in a newly issued ruling, Judge Kronstadt denied Cher’s request for legal fee reimbursement.
The judge clarified that because the lawsuit turned on interpreting California state contract law rather than federal copyright law, the automatic fee-shifting provisions typical of federal copyright cases did not apply. Consequently, Cher remains responsible for covering the substantial $1 million legal bill accumulated over four years of intense courtroom maneuvering.
Despite the heavy financial cost of the litigation, the core ruling protects Cher’s long-term rights to the lucrative Sonny & Cher music catalog, ensuring her financial interests remain fully intact moving forward.
