Judge orders Cher to pay over $1 million in legal fees

A federal judge has ruled that singer Cher must pay her own legal fees, totaling more than $1 million, despite her victory in a long-running royalties dispute with Mary Bono, the widow of her former musical partner Sonny Bono. The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt on July 20, 2026, denied Cher's request to have Mary Bono cover the costs of the litigation.

The underlying legal battle began in October 2021 when Cher filed a lawsuit alleging that Mary Bono, a former congresswoman and the administrator of Sonny Bono's estate, was wrongfully withholding royalty payments. Cher's claim was based on a 1978 divorce settlement with Sonny Bono that granted her a permanent 50 percent share of publishing revenue from songs they created together as the duo Sonny & Cher, including hits like "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On."

The dispute centered on Mary Bono's attempt to use a provision of the federal Copyright Act known as termination rights. This provision allows songwriters or their heirs to reclaim control of publishing rights after 35 years. Mary Bono argued in 2021 that this right allowed the estate to stop payments under the decades-old divorce agreement,...