Cher wins royalty suit against Sonny Bono’s widow

A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled in favor of Cher, 78, in her lawsuit against Mary Bono, Sonny Bono's widow, claiming that her share of Sonny & Cher royalties are owed, according to reports from the City News Service.

U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt believed Cher's decades-old divorce settlement with her ex-husband
constitutes a "contractual right" gaining 50% of royalties from the singing duo's major hits like "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On."

Since Cher filed the lawsuit in October 2021, the LA judge had found that the singer is owed over $400,000 in past royalties. Additionally, Bono's estate, managed by Bono's widow, had restricted Cher from receiving royalties, stated the complaint.

The complaint also mentions that the Bono Collection Trust claimed that its 2016 notices of termination to several music publishers also applied to Cher's royalty rights, according to City News Service.

The widow, 62, argued that the Copyright Act allowed her to cut the 50% royalties that Sonny Bono agreed to give Cher when the former couple signed their divorce settlement in 1978 after getting married in 1964. The couple's joint career withered by the mid-1970s, though each was successful on their own -- Cher prioritizing acting while Bono served as a California politician.

Previously, Bono was mayor of Palm Springs from 1988-1992, and served as a Republican congressman from 1995 until his death in 1998. He was succeeded by Mary Bono, who served until 2013.