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Beyoncé Hits Back at Right Said Fred for Their ‘Disparaging’ Claim She Didn’t Seek Permission for ‘Sexy’ Interpolation
Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Right Said Fred has officially stirred not just the Beyhive but the Bey. Beyoncé herself, who rarely comments on such matters publicly, has issued a statement vehemently taking issue with the duo’s reported claim that her camp never sought permission to use “I’m Too Sexy” as a part of her recent “Alien Superstar” track. Right Said Fred’s allegations, as reported in the U.K. newspaper the Sun, are “erroneous and incredibly disparaging,” Beyoncé said in a statement issued to E! Entertainment News. Beyoncé pointed out that her track technically does not actually sample theirs, as the duo was quoted as contending, but is an interpolation in which “I’m Too Sexy” is essentially paraphrased through a re-recording of the elements used. Thus, she says, permission only needed to be sought from the songwriting publisher, not the holders of the original “Sexy” recording — and it was asked for and granted.