Beyoncé finds herself embroiled in legal trouble once more over a highlight from her Grammy-winning Renaissance project.
The current dispute centers on the spoken-word introduction to “Alien Superstar.” The owners of the sampled material are seeking their share.
TMZ reports that Hirose Enterprise and producer Shuji Hirose have filed a copyright infringement suit against Beyoncé and various music companies regarding the use of “Moonraker”—a track performed by John Holiday, who also goes by Foremost Poets.
The complaint alleges that Beyoncé’s team used Moonraker’s spoken-word intro in Alien Superstar without securing the correct license prior to Renaissance’s 2022 release. Plaintiffs say a license was ultimately obtained weeks after the album’s release, but the arrangement had a fundamental flaw: Hirose asserts it owned the rights to the track well before the album’s debut and that Holiday had already transferred his interest in the work many years earlier.
In short, the plaintiffs contend that permission was granted to the wrong party.
And this isn’t the first time that “Alien Superstar” has sat under the glare of litigation.
As Complex previously noted, Parkwood Entertainment won a courtroom ruling in an earlier case tied to the identical sample. The claim was dismissed after a federal judge ruled that Hirose Enterprises did not legally exist at the time the suit was filed. The complaint was filed on August 4, 2025, but the company wasn’t officially formed until August 12, 2025.
Now that’s what you call a technicality.
Nevertheless, the dismissal did not resolve the fundamental question of who truly owns “Moonraker.” Hirose’s attorney had signaled that the firm was weighing its next steps, and TMZ’s latest report implies the dispute persists.
Hirose is now seeking an injunction to halt ongoing sales and monetization of the track, along with unspecified damages.
For the moment, Beyoncé’s “Alien Superstar” remains available, but the legal drama surrounding its opening moments proves to be as intricate as the track itself. If the case moves forward, Beyoncé’s legal team could find themselves back in court for another high-profile appearance.
