Gloria Gaynor, best known for her disco anthem “I Will Survive,” is suing one of her former producers.
In court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Gaynor claims she’s owed $2 million after her former producer, Joel Diamond, and companies that he controls “utterly failed to live up to their obligations to keep Plaintiffs apprised of how their work was being licensed and used, while wrongfully exacting economic benefits they were not entitled to by exploiting that very relationship.”
According to the complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York on July 26, Gaynor alleges that Diamond falsely claimed ownership of several of her songs, including “I’ve Been Watching You,” “You’re All I Need to Get By” and “I Am What I Am.”
She alleges Diamond also listed himself as a co-writer on at least one song.
“At no time did Gaynor write a song with Diamond. To her knowledge, Diamond has never been a songwriter,” the complaint states.
“Since the inception of the alleged recording agreement, despite Gaynor’s repeated requests for an accounting thereof, defendants have failed to pay any royalties, provide transparency as to who Gaynor’s music was licensed to or any demonstration that Gaynor’s music was protected. Payments have been made to Defendants in various amounts, but Defendants have concealed and suppressed all payments to Gaynor.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Diamond stated, “I am in the process of retaining counsel. The allegations are demonstrably false. The written contract is very clear and has been in place for 40 years. Sony has acknowledged that I own 100 percent of the rights. Any statement contrary to this fact is defamatory and I intend to exercise my legal rights to the fullest extent.”
“Payments have been made to Defendants in various amounts, but Defendants have concealed and suppressed all payments to Gaynor.
— Gloria Gaynor in her complaint against producer Joel Diamond
Representatives for Gaynor did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Gaynor is a co-plaintiff with Robin Randall, a songwriter who alleges that Diamond has “fraudulently claimed ownership of copyrighted works owned by Robin and wrongfully, and without authority, entered into licensing agreements thereby.”
Randall also claims Diamond “wrongfully caused” her mother and songwriting collaborator, Judithe Randall, “to sign over her ownership rights to many copyrighted works” while Judithe was “significantly ill and incapacitated” and later admitted to a mental institution and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Judithe Randall died in 2002.
“The allegations are demonstrably false. Any statement contrary to this fact is defamatory and I intend to exercise my legal rights to the fullest extent.”
— Joel Diamond
Diamond and companies controlled by him, Joel Diamond Entertainment, Silver Blue Productions and Ocean Blue Music, are all listed as defendants in the filing, which also alleges breach of contract, copyright infringement and fraud.
Gaynor appeared on “The Masked Singer” in 2022, telling Fox News Digital at the time, “It was a lot of fun … the intrigue of running around with the hoodie and the mask and the gloves.”
She also reflected on her career-defining hit, “I Will Survive,” which was released nearly 50 years ago in 1978.
“It’s very encouraging to me that I could have [recorded] a song that would be so long-lasting and mean so much to people, not just a song they like but a song that helps them through their lives in hard times in their lives. It’s amazing,” Gaynor said.
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