Cher Scores Near-Complete Victory in Royalties War, Mary Bono Vows Appeal
Cher Scores Near-Complete Victory in Royalties War, Mary Bono Vows Appeal In a final judgment, Cher won the right to recover potentially substantial costs from Mary Bono and to be the conduit passing along the royalties she sold to Iconic Artists Group By Nancy Dillon December 2, 2025 A federal judge has sided with Cher yet again, issuing a final judgment in the singer’s four-year royalties war with Sonny Bono’s widow that grants Cher almost everything she sought, including potentially substantial legal costs. Mary Bono, the head of her late husband’s estate, plans to appeal, her lawyer tells Rolling Stone. In his final judgment signed Nov. 26, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt formally lodged his prior ruling that found Mary was barred from using the federal Copyright Act to reclaim the 50 percent share of Sonny’s composition royalties granted to Cher in her 1978 divorce agreement with Sonny. Mary had tried to terminate those rights — for hit songs including “I Got You Babe” and “...