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Cher Denied Reimbursement in Sonny Bono Royalties Battle
22 Jul
Summary
- Cher must pay over $1 million in legal fees to Sonny Bono's widow.
- A federal judge ruled contract law, not copyright, applied to the dispute.
- Mary Bono appealed the prior ruling on Cher's royalty share.
Singer Cher has been ordered to cover her own legal expenses, totaling $1,023,605, stemming from her dispute with Mary Bono, Sonny Bono's widow. The ruling was made by Federal Judge John A. Kronstadt in December 2025. Kronstadt determined that the legal framework for ordering repayment of legal fees did not apply in this instance, as the disagreement primarily concerned contractual obligations rather than federal copyright law.
This decision follows a prior judgment in November 2025, where the judge sided with Cher in the singer's four-year legal battle. The ruling confirmed Mary Bono was prohibited from using the Copyright Act to reclaim Sonny Bono's composition royalties, which were granted to Cher in their 1978 divorce agreement. Cher's entitlement to direct payment of her composition and record royalties, despite selling rights to Iconic Artists Group in 2022, was also upheld.
Mary Bono had challenged the ruling concerning Cher's entitlement to half of the publishing royalties from their 1960s hit songs. A federal appeals court is expected to rule on this appeal. Cher, a 79-year-old Grammy, Oscar, and Emmy winner, continues her solo career, having recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Grammy Awards. Sonny Bono died in a skiing accident in 1998, leaving Mary to manage his estate.
