Since 2021, Cher had been fighting in Los Angeles courts to recover something that, according to her, had belonged to her since 1978: half of the royalties from songs like ‘I Got You Babe,’ agreed upon in her divorce settlement with Sonny Bono. 🎤
She won. Judge John A. Kronstadt recognized her right and ordered the payment of more than $418,000 that Mary Bono, Sonny’s widow, had withheld. Up to that point, a total victory.
But when Cher asked Mary to return the $1,023,605.30 she spent on lawyers during the battle, the same judge said no: her victory was based on California contract law, not federal copyright law, so reimbursement did not apply. Mary Bono has already appealed the rest of the ruling before the Ninth Circuit. Winning can sometimes be expensive too. 💸