Travis Scott, SZA and Future maintain they had full permission from Ye to use the demo — they're fighting this on technicalities, not guilt. Their legal team insists the case will inevitably be dismissed once the full facts emerge.
The timing of Victory Boyd's copyright registration is messy — she didn't lock in ownership of 'Like the Way It Sounds' until AFTER 'Telekinesis' already dropped in 2023. That's why the judge limited damages. And where is Ye in all this? The man who allegedly gave permission isn't even in the lawsuit.
Victory Boyd sued LAST YEAR claiming she never gave permission for Scott to adapt her demo. The judge ruled on MARCH 9, 2026 that the trio 'have come nowhere near shouldering their burden' to dismiss. 'Telekinesis' hit No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
This case is far from over — discovery means depositions, evidence exchanges and likely more leaked communications. Victory Boyd's lawyer put it best: she's fighting 'against giant companies and artists with undiscerning fanbases.' This is about to get messy.
Travis Scott, SZA and Future just got some very bad news from a New York federal courtroom — and they can't spin their way out of it. A judge has denied the trio's motion to dismiss Victory Boyd's copyright lawsuit over "Telekinesis," the 2023 hit that featured all three artists and peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Boyd filed suit last year alleging she never gave permission for Scott to adapt her demo "Like the Way It Sounds" into "Telekinesis." The gospel singer says she wrote lyrics for what was supposed to be an unreleased Ye track recorded in 2019 during the Jesus Is King sessions — but Scott, SZA and Future used it anyway. The defense team's argument? Boyd falsely labeled herself as the demo's sole composer on copyright registration paperwork, which should kill the case outright. U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil wasn't buying it.
"It is difficult to see how the moving defendants could have shouldered that burden at this stage of the litigation," Vyskocil wrote in her Monday ruling, noting there's essentially zero evidence in the record about Boyd's actual collaborative relationship with Ye — the very relationship the defense is using to argue they had permission. The judge did trim one claim from Boyd's lawsuit on technical grounds and limited potential financial damages because she didn't copyright "Like the Way It Sounds" until after "Telekinesis" was already out in 2023 — but the core case survives.
Boyd's attorney Keith White celebrated the ruling in a statement, emphasizing that his client is fighting for all creators: "We hope that other creatives are encouraged to fight for their rights, even when fighting against giant companies and artists with undiscerning fanbases." Meanwhile, defense attorney Ed McPherson tried to put a positive spin on things, claiming the ruling "only delayed the inevitable dismissal of the case." Bold prediction — but the case now heads to discovery, meaning depositions and evidence exchanges are coming.
The lawsuit names not just Scott, SZA and Future but also Sony Music and Scott's Cactus Jack Records. Notably absent from the litigation? Ye himself — the man whose alleged permission is central to the defense's entire argument. That's a gap even the most fan-loyal social media stans can't explain away.
