Rihanna is being dragged into a controversy over a Smurfs movie song she reportedly had no involvement in beyond performing it.
A lawsuit filed Friday (Jan. 30) by Grammy-nominated songwriter ROMANS, born Sam Roman, alleges that Paramount Pictures used songs he wrote for the 2025 Smurfs movie without securing his permission or compensating him, then attempted to pin the situation on Rihanna.
According to court filings reviewed by Billboard, Roman claims Paramount went ahead and used the Rihanna-performed song “Anyone” after negotiations fell apart, doing so without his approval and without “paying him a dime.” The lawsuit accuses the studio of copyright infringement, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.
Roman further alleges that Paramount later declined to fix the issue and instead “pointed its finger at Rihanna,” suggesting she was responsible for him not being paid.
In the complaint, Roman’s attorney, Jonathan Steinsapir, writes, “Paramount took the tack common to a toddler confronted with wrongdoing: Blame someone else. In this case, blame Rihanna. Paramount decided to punish plaintiff — and brazenly infringe his copyrights by using them without consent and without paying him a dime — because the studio was mad at Rihanna.”
The lawsuit also claims that Smurfs, which reportedly cost Paramount about $80 million in losses, featured another song written by Roman, “Always on the Outside,” performed by James Corden, again without authorization.
Steinsapir adds, “Paramount knew full well that it had no right to use plaintiff’s intellectual property in this way. Indeed, Paramount credits plaintiff as the songwriter and producer of both tracks. Despite these credits, Paramount has still not paid plaintiff even a penny.”
Rihanna is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Roman says Paramount initially approached him in 2022, promising that the song would be performed by Rihanna, heavily promoted, and that he would receive “significant backend royalties.”
His legal team notes, “To state the obvious, big-name performers significantly drive the commercial value of songs. Writing and producing just one hit for an artist like Rihanna can yield economic benefits for decades.”
As the film’s release approached, Roman claims he was informed that “Anyone” would not receive a commercial release, a change he says fundamentally altered the deal and caused negotiations to be “completely halted.” Despite that, the lawsuit says the movie was released with his music used in “key scenes.”
His attorneys state, “At no time did plaintiff consent in any way — expressly or impliedly — to Paramount releasing the songs and recordings without a written agreement.”
The movie’s official soundtrack includes only one Rihanna-performed track, “Friend of Mine,” which Roman did not help write.
After the film’s release, Roman alleges Paramount chose to “blame Rihanna,” telling him the studio was “very frustrated by the money it had supposedly spent on Rihanna’s participation” and that they failed to get “an appropriate return from her.”
According to the complaint, “Paramount explained that Rihanna had supposedly required Paramount to waste a lot of money and go over budget on the movie. Because of that, Paramount explained, plaintiff was just out of luck.”
“Plaintiff has no issue with Rihanna,” Roman’s lawyers stressed. “His issue is squarely with Paramount.”
