Cher Cracks Down on Mary Bono, Sonny's Widow, Demanding $1 Million in Legal Fees.
In a stunning development, pop legend Cher has filed a motion with a federal judge seeking to hold Mary Bono, the widow of late musician Sonny Bono, accountable for her share of the nearly $1 million in legal fees incurred during their highly publicized royalties dispute.
According to court documents, Cher's lawyers claim that Mary tried to misinterpret the termination provisions of the Copyright Act and "dragged this case out" by taking an unreasonable stance, which they believe gave rise to a significant bill for attorney's services.
A federal judge, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt, had previously ruled in Cher's favor in 2024, determining that Mary had stepped out of bounds when attempting to reclaim the share of Sonny's composition royalties granted to Cher as part of their divorce agreement. The court found California contract law supersedes federal copyright law in this case.
As part of their marriage, Sonny Bono assigned 50% of his music publishing grants and recordings to Cher, a decision she has maintained throughout their lengthy legal battle over Sonny's estate. During the proceedings, Mary allegedly started diverting Cher's royalties without permission or justification.
The motion for attorney's fees states that Mary repeatedly disputed federal copyright law, arguing that it somehow diminished her rights under state law, even though Congress had explicitly stated this was not the case.
Despite Mary's defense team requesting no costs from either party be awarded, Cher is now pushing back with a request to hold her ex-lawyer accountable for the hefty bill. An upcoming court hearing on February 23 will determine whether Judge Kronstadt is willing to grant these fees.
While the judge declined to award attorney fees in a similar case involving Marvin Gaye's estate and Robin Thicke, it remains to be seen how he might rule on Cher's request.
In a stunning development, pop legend Cher has filed a motion with a federal judge seeking to hold Mary Bono, the widow of late musician Sonny Bono, accountable for her share of the nearly $1 million in legal fees incurred during their highly publicized royalties dispute.
According to court documents, Cher's lawyers claim that Mary tried to misinterpret the termination provisions of the Copyright Act and "dragged this case out" by taking an unreasonable stance, which they believe gave rise to a significant bill for attorney's services.
A federal judge, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt, had previously ruled in Cher's favor in 2024, determining that Mary had stepped out of bounds when attempting to reclaim the share of Sonny's composition royalties granted to Cher as part of their divorce agreement. The court found California contract law supersedes federal copyright law in this case.
As part of their marriage, Sonny Bono assigned 50% of his music publishing grants and recordings to Cher, a decision she has maintained throughout their lengthy legal battle over Sonny's estate. During the proceedings, Mary allegedly started diverting Cher's royalties without permission or justification.
The motion for attorney's fees states that Mary repeatedly disputed federal copyright law, arguing that it somehow diminished her rights under state law, even though Congress had explicitly stated this was not the case.
Despite Mary's defense team requesting no costs from either party be awarded, Cher is now pushing back with a request to hold her ex-lawyer accountable for the hefty bill. An upcoming court hearing on February 23 will determine whether Judge Kronstadt is willing to grant these fees.
While the judge declined to award attorney fees in a similar case involving Marvin Gaye's estate and Robin Thicke, it remains to be seen how he might rule on Cher's request.
, this whole thing just got juicy! So Mary Bono is trying to wriggle out of paying her share of Cher's $1 million legal fees? Like, girl, you knew the deal when you married Sonny 
. I feel like she's been playing hardball all along, trying to get more than her fair share. The fact that she diverted Cher's royalties without permission is just low 
. But you know what really gets me? She thought she could outsmart federal copyright law 
. Like, newsflash: Congress said it's not gonna work that way! 
Now Cher's all like "Hey, I'm gonna hold you accountable for these fees" and I am HERE. FOR. IT 
!
oh man, i cant even believe this is happening. like mary bono literally dragged that whole case out for years over some royalties dispute. and now she's trying to spin it and say cher was the one who dragged it out? 
come on, mary. you're a lawyer, use your brain. Cher had the court ruling in her favor already, what more did you want? 
and to make matters worse, cher is now being like "hey, can i get my money back from my ex-lawyer too?" 
like, are you serious? this is getting messy. and a million dollars in legal fees is just ridiculous. it's not like cher didn't do everything she could to settle the case already. 
. Anyway, $1 million in legal fees? That's a lot of money! 
. I don't know how much more emotional toll this case is going to take on her 
. Anyway, I hope Judge Kronstadt does the right thing and grants those fees... but like, can we move on from this drama already? 
?
like, girl bye, if u thought u cud outsmart cher and get away with siphoning her royalties without permission... newsflash: Cher has been preparing for this move since day 1 