Beyoncé denies Right Said Fred's claim that she didn't ask to use 'I'm Too Sexy' after duo call her 'arrogant'

Beyoncé is shutting down a claim that she didn't ask Right Said Fred to use their song "I'm Too Sexy," calling it just plain wrong.

Earlier this week, the musical duo, consisting of brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass, dubbed Queen Bey "arrogant" in an interview with The Sun and alleged that she didn't seek permission to interpolate their 1992 hit "I'm Too Sexy" on her atmospheric track "Alien Superstar," which appears on her new album, Renaissance.

Beyoncé, however, is singing a very different tune. "The comments made by Right Said Fred stating that Beyoncé used 'I'm Too Sexy' in 'Alien Superstar' without permission are erroneous and incredibly disparaging," her representative said in a statement to EW. "Permission was not only granted for its use, but they publicly spoke of their gratitude for being on the album."

John Lamparski/WireImage; Dave Hogan/Getty Images Beyoncé and Right Said Fred

The statement noted that "no sound recording" from "I'm Too Sexy" was used within "Alien Superstar," only the song's "composition," and it provided receipts to back it up.

"Permission was asked of their publisher on May 11, 2022, and the publisher approved the use on June 15, 2022. They were paid for the usage in August 2022," the statement reads. "Furthermore, the copyright percentage of the Right Said Fred writers with respect to the use of 'I'm Too Sexy' is a substantial portion of the composition. Collectively, the Right Said Fred writers own more than any other singular writer and have co-writer credit. This accusation is false."

During their interview, Right Said Fred claimed that they didn't know Beyoncé had used their song until after it was released. "Normally the artist approaches us, but Beyoncé didn't because she is such an arrogant person," they said. "She just had probably thought, 'Come and get me,' so we heard about it after the fact when you did."

This contradicts Beyoncé's statement and Right Said Fred's own past comments about the track being used on Renaissance. A week before the album's release on July 29, the band tweeted, "It's nice to get a writing credit on the new 'Beyoncé' album."

Typically, the duo said, artists who have used the song's melody — including Drake and Taylor Swift — have all sought permission from the brothers. Drake incorporated the song in his 2021 single "Way 2 Sexy," while Swift featured it on her 2017 track "Look What You Made Me Do."

They said ultimately there was nothing they could do about the song. "You are going to get into a conversation with someone who has a lot more presence and power and money than we do. And that won't go well," the group said. "It's best to let it go. If you're not careful, you spend your life looking back. We keep looking forward the whole time."

Right Said Fred aren't the only ones who have called out Beyoncé for incorporating their music into Renaissance. In August, Kelis said it was "stupid and disrespectful" that her 2003 song "Milkshake" was used on the track "Energy" without her consent. The sample has since been removed from the song on multiple streaming platforms.

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