Beyoncé hit with Cease-and-Desist over Las Vegas sphere imagery in ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour

Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” tour has run into legal trouble just days after kicking off, with a cease-and-desist notice issued by the Sphere Entertainment Group (SEG) for allegedly using unauthorized visuals of the iconic Las Vegas Sphere.

The complaint stems from a scene in her performance where Beyoncé appears larger-than-life, picking up and interacting with the massive LED-covered venue in a stylized visual sequence. SEG, led by Madison Square Garden chief James Dolan, claims this amounts to an "impermissible use and violation" of their intellectual property rights.

In a legal notice obtained by Page Six, attorney Kathleen McCarthy wrote, “Beyoncé — many orders of magnitude larger than the Sphere venue — leans over, picks up the venue, and looms over it.” She stressed that SEG had not given permission for this portrayal and warned that its use was unauthorized.

The company has set a deadline of Monday for Beyoncé and her team at Parkwood Entertainment to pull the imagery from her shows and any associated promotional or merchandising content. SEG has also reserved the right to take additional legal action if the demands are not met.

About the Cowboy Carter Tour

Beyoncé launched her much-anticipated “Cowboy Carter” world tour on April 28 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, where she’s slated for five back-to-back shows. The tour includes 22 performances across the U.S., U.K., and France, with stops in cities like Chicago, London, Paris, and Houston. It wraps up with two shows in Las Vegas on July 25 and 26 — ironically, at the center of the current controversy.