Kendrick Lamar and SZA Respond To Artist Who Claims They Copied Her Art For “Black Panther” Music Video

Back in February, artist Lina Iris Viktor filed a lawsuit against #KendrickLamar and #SZA for allegedly using her work in their music video for “All the Stars” from ‘Black Panther: The Album’.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

In the suit obtained by TMZ, Viktor claimed the video used “copyrightable elements” of her paintings, ‘Constellations I’, ‘Constellations II’, and ‘Constellations III’, which feature gold designs, symbols, and creatures on a black background. She also said reps for the film reached out to her two times to inquire about her artwork, but she denied the request. However, according to Viktor, her work was still knocked off and featured, despite her refusal. So, she sued for damages and an injunction to prevent the musicians from using her work to promote the album.

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Since then, according to The Blast, Kendrick and SZA have denied all accusations of wrongdoing. In fact, they say the music video was created independently and nothing was taken from Viktor. But, if some parts did look similar to Viktor’s artwork, they say it is “fair to use and not copyrightable.”

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In addition, the artists say that any money that was made from the music video had nothing to do with the alleged use of Viktor’s artwork so they believe the case should be thrown out.