Paramount settles lawsuit alleging unpaid work tied to Rihanna song used in ‘Smurfs’ movie

Paramount has settled a lawsuit that alleged the studio was “mad at Rihanna” after a song credited to Rihanna appeared in the “Smurfs” movie without the songwriter who created the track being paid, according to Billboard. The settlement will end the case, which was filed by a behind-the-scenes music contributor who said he wrote a Rihanna song used in the film but was not compensated.

Billboard reported that the case was brought by a songwriter or producer described as a hitmaker who worked on the Rihanna track before it was included in the movie. The plaintiff alleged that the arrangement did not include proper payment to him for the song’s use, turning what would otherwise be a licensing and credit dispute into a legal claim over compensation.

The dispute was centered on the use of the Rihanna song in the “Smurfs” film and the allegation that the plaintiff’s contribution was incorporated without settlement of what he viewed as owed fees. The reporting characterizations emphasized the plaintiff’s account of the circumstances around the track, including the claim that Paramount was “mad at Rihanna,” a framing that appears in the lawsuit’s description but is not, on its own, a finding of wrongdoing by the company.

In the coverage of the resolution, Billboard said the settlement will close the litigation. While settlements often include confidentiality terms and do not require an admission of fault, the practical effect for the parties is that the court case will no longer proceed on the same claims presented in the complaint.

The end of the case closes an additional chapter in the broader music and film industry’s long-running challenge of tying together songwriting credits, production contributions, and the chain of music licensing payments that flow through studio, label, and publishing agreements. As studios increasingly rely on pre-recorded catalog material and high-profile artist tracks for soundtrack and marketing strategy, disputes over whether specific contributors were compensated can quickly become public and legally costly.

For viewers, the settlement does not change the fact that Rihanna’s song appeared in the “Smurfs” movie, but it does affect the parties who brought the claims and the ongoing business risk for companies involved in soundtrack licensing. For the industry, the resolution is another example of how compensation disputes can move from negotiation and paperwork into litigation, and then back out again through settlement, typically before trial.

The case resolution also points to how quickly soundtrack-related legal issues can escalate once the documentation of payment, credit, and use becomes contested. With the settlement, the next steps for the affected parties are expected to be governed by the terms of the agreement, including any confidentiality provisions and releases that determine whether related claims can be pursued elsewhere.