The owner of the Sphere has sent Beyoncé a cease-and-desist letter over footage that shows the singer picking up a version of what they say is the Las Vegas venue, according to reports from Billboard and New York Post.
“Beyoncé — many orders of magnitude larger than the Sphere venue — leans over, picks up the venue, and looms over it,” the letter reads, according to the Post, leading to “significant speculation that Beyoncé will end her tour with a Sphere residency.”
The letter, reportedly addressed to Beyoncé’s production company Parkwood Entertainment on behalf of Sphere Entertainment Group, asks that the singer stop using the footage, included in an interlude for the show, which they say is used “without permission” of the Sphere and misleads fans.
A source told Billboard that the visual upset CEO of Sphere Entertainment James Dolan after he tried to negotiate for the singer to perform at the Las Vegas venue in the past. Beyoncé will instead perform at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on July 25 and 26 this summer. Dolan is also the CEO of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Group.
“It has recently come to SEG’s attention that a Cowboy Carter tour interlude video contains the unauthorized use of SEG’s intellectual property,” the letter reads. “SEG is sure that multiple aspects of the interlude video, including other brands, clips and music, were duly cleared by the tour with rights permissions from the rights holders whose works were used in the video, as is common practice. SEG, however, was never asked, and the prominent appearance and manipulation of SEG’s Sphere venue in the video is unauthorized.”
Beyoncé launched her tour on Monday in Los Angeles. During a Thursday show at SoFi Stadium, Beyoncé added a medley that included fan-favorites such as “Crazy in Love,” “Love on Top,” and “Single Ladies.”
“Ultimately, Beyoncé delivered a Beyoncé-caliber stadium show devoid of genre limitations, and anchored by the stunning choreography of her more than 24 backup dancers,” read a Rolling Stone review of the show.
