Madonna Faces $10.5 Million Lawsuit Over LGBT Support in Russia

After Madonna challenged St. Petersburg's gay pride ban at a concert there earlier this month, a group of activists has announced they will file a $10.5 million lawsuit against the pop star for "moral damage," reports RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency. Members of the Union of Russian Citizens, the civil group People's Assembly and the New Great Russia party are submitting the lawsuit today.

"We demand that she pay for moral damage suffered by St. Petersburg residents as a result of her actions during the show on August 9th," a spokeswoman for the Union of Russian Citizens said. "We must defend our right to normal cultural life without propaganda of values and views that contradict the Russian culture."

A lawyer representing the group said the "psychological stress and emotional shock" was felt beyond the show's attendees, claiming many other people were affected by footage of the show and reports on the Internet. "While speaking of tolerance, she abuses the feelings of believers," said Alexander Pochuyev, claiming Madonna's "open promotion of homosexuality" was at fault. The singer handed out handed out pink bracelets and repeatedly showed support for the LGBT community during her set August 9th, despite protests in the city.

The lawsuit adds more controversy to Madonna's MNDA tour: Elton John bashed her earlier this month and called her career "over." She displayed World War II-era footage of the Warsaw Uprising at a tour stop in the Polish capital, in reaction to protests. In July, a Paris crowd booed and call her a "slut" after her 45-minute set at an unexpected show. France's far right National Front party announced they will file a lawsuit against Madonna for her use of Nazi imagery at a tour stop in Paris. She has also canceled the Australian leg of her MDNA tour and was recently sued over an uncleared sample on her 1990 hit "Vogue."

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Madonna Faces $10.5 Million Lawsuit Over LGBT Support in Russia

After Madonna challenged St. Petersburg's gay pride ban at a concert there earlier this month, a group of activists has announced they will file a $10.5 million lawsuit against the pop star for "moral damage," reports RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency. Members of the Union of Russian Citizens, the civil group People's Assembly and the New Great Russia party are submitting the lawsuit today.

"We demand that she pay for moral damage suffered by St. Petersburg residents as a result of her actions during the show on August 9th," a spokeswoman for the Union of Russian Citizens said. "We must defend our right to normal cultural life without propaganda of values and views that contradict the Russian culture."

A lawyer representing the group said the "psychological stress and emotional shock" was felt beyond the show's attendees, claiming many other people were affected by footage of the show and reports on the Internet. "While speaking of tolerance, she abuses the feelings of believers," said Alexander Pochuyev, claiming Madonna's "open promotion of homosexuality" was at fault. The singer handed out handed out pink bracelets and repeatedly showed support for the LGBT community during her set August 9th, despite protests in the city.

The lawsuit adds more controversy to Madonna's MNDA tour: Elton John bashed her earlier this month and called her career "over." She displayed World War II-era footage of the Warsaw Uprising at a tour stop in the Polish capital, in reaction to protests. In July, a Paris crowd booed and call her a "slut" after her 45-minute set at an unexpected show. France's far right National Front party announced they will file a lawsuit against Madonna for her use of Nazi imagery at a tour stop in Paris. She has also canceled the Australian leg of her MDNA tour and was recently sued over an uncleared sample on her 1990 hit "Vogue."

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Jay-Z Faces Lawsuit Over 'Big Pimpin'' Sample

Jay-Z is facing a serious legal challenge over the rights to a hook sampled on his 2000 hit "Big Pimpin'." The nephew of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdy is close to taking the rapper to court, claiming that he ruined his uncle's song, "Khosara, Khosara," and that his family has not been fairly compensated for its use as the lead instrumental motif in the hit.

A handful of Egyptian musicians have attempted to claim a valid license on "Khosara, Khosara" but have failed to substantiate their claim well enough to pursue a lawsuit. Much of the suit hinges on Egyptian copyright law, which confers economic ownership to authors as well as the ability to control what happens with the material. Though the song was licensed to Jay-Z, Hamdy's family say that the rapper "mutilated" the source material and required more specific permission.

Osama Ahmed Fahmy, Hamdy's nephew, is pushing to get a cut of Jay-Z's revenue for the song prior to the 2007 filing of his lawsuit up until now, including a portion of the emcee's concert profits.

In other Jay-Z news, the rapper is set to appear at the SXSW festival for the second year in a row. Jay-Z's performance at Austin City Limits on March 12th will be live-streamed on YouTube as part of American Express' Amex Sync Show promotion. The rapper performed at Kanye West's G.O.O.D. showcase last year, where they debuted a song from their Watch the Throne album.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Jay-Z Faces Lawsuit Over 'Big Pimpin'' Sample

Jay-Z is facing a serious legal challenge over the rights to a hook sampled on his 2000 hit "Big Pimpin'." The nephew of Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdy is close to taking the rapper to court, claiming that he ruined his uncle's song, "Khosara, Khosara," and that his family has not been fairly compensated for its use as the lead instrumental motif in the hit.

A handful of Egyptian musicians have attempted to claim a valid license on "Khosara, Khosara" but have failed to substantiate their claim well enough to pursue a lawsuit. Much of the suit hinges on Egyptian copyright law, which confers economic ownership to authors as well as the ability to control what happens with the material. Though the song was licensed to Jay-Z, Hamdy's family say that the rapper "mutilated" the source material and required more specific permission.

Osama Ahmed Fahmy, Hamdy's nephew, is pushing to get a cut of Jay-Z's revenue for the song prior to the 2007 filing of his lawsuit up until now, including a portion of the emcee's concert profits.

In other Jay-Z news, the rapper is set to appear at the SXSW festival for the second year in a row. Jay-Z's performance at Austin City Limits on March 12th will be live-streamed on YouTube as part of American Express' Amex Sync Show promotion. The rapper performed at Kanye West's G.O.O.D. showcase last year, where they debuted a song from their Watch the Throne album.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon MP3 Download Center

Read more »