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Cher's court win against Mary Bono, the widow of her ex-husband Sonny Bono, has a steep cost.
The pop icon, who previously sued Bono in a royalties dispute, has been ordered to pay more than $1 million in legal fees after winning the case two years ago. Cher, 80, filed a request in January to be fully reimbursed for the expenses she accumulated in the lengthy legal battle.
Cher was married to Bono's husband Sonny, a fellow pop singer, from 1969 to 1975 and performed with him in the classic '60s group Sonny & Cher. Sonny, who later went into politics as a California mayor and then congressman, married Bono, a former congresswoman, in 1986; the two remained together until Sonny's fatal skiing accident in 1998.
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In October 2021, the "I Got You Babe" singer filed a lawsuit against Mary Bono seeking $1 million in damages for a series of allegedly unpaid royalties from Sonny & Cher's music, according to previous court records reviewed by USA TODAY. Cher alleged in the complaint that Bono had "undone" her ownership of the group's rights and royalties, which she purportedly had a 50% claim over as part of her divorce settlement with Sonny.
Cher won the lawsuit in May 2024, with a judge determining that the Grammy-winning singer was entitled to more than $418,000 in unpaid royalties, per court records reviewed by USA TODAY.
After that legal victory, Cher pressed for the court to pay her legal fees. But in a July 17 ruling, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt determined the singer must now cover her own attorney's fees from the lawsuit, as the women's dispute centered on contracts rather than federal copyright law. Bono is still appealing the original royalties decision.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Cher and Mary Bono for comment.
Cher and Bono once had a cordial relationship. The women were seen side by side at the Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony for Sonny & Cher in 1998.
And in 2012, Bono joined Cher onstage at the GLAAD Media Awards to honor Cher and Sonny's son, Chaz Bono, for his advocacy work with the LGBTQ community. "I'm here with the only good Republican in the world," Cher jokingly said of Mary Bono, who she called her "friend."
The "Believe" singer reflected on her tumultuous romance with Sonny in a November 2024 interview with USA TODAY. Despite the ups and downs of their marriage, including Sonny's battle with substance abuse, Cher said she still had a soft spot for her former spouse.
"Sonny and my relationship is hard to understand because it's hard for me to understand," Cher said. "Even as angry as I got with him, there was a bond that I couldn't break. Even after he took all of my money. There was that certain thing. It was hero worship," she said. "We were both striving for this thing, and we loved it so much. But he was a piece of work."
Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cher ordered to pay $1M in legal fees after Mary Bono royalties dispute
