Cher Gets Hit With a $1 Million Legal Fee Bill In Mary Bono Case
Winning in court doesn't always feel like winning.
Cher, 80, sued Mary Bono — the widow of her ex-husband Sonny Bono — over unpaid royalties from Sonny & Cher's music catalog. She won. A judge ruled in May 2024 that she was owed more than $418,000 in royalties that had allegedly gone unpaid. Then Cher asked the court to make Bono cover her legal fees from the lengthy battle.
That request didn't go the way she hoped.
On July 17, US District Judge John A. Kronstadt ruled that Cher must pay her own legal fees — more than $1 million worth. The reason comes down to a technical but significant legal distinction. Cher's case was built on contract claims, not federal copyright law. Fee-shifting — where a winning party gets their legal costs covered by the loser — is available under copyright law but not automatically in contract disputes. The judge found the case didn't qualify.
So Cher won $418,000 in royalties and is now on the hook for over $1 million in attorney's fees. The math doesn't work in her favor.
Mary Bono is still appealing the original royalties decision, meaning this case isn't over yet. Representatives for both women didn't respond to requests for comment.
The History Behind the Lawsuit
Cher filed the original complaint in October 2021, seeking $1 million in damages over what she described as a series of unpaid royalties. The core of her argument was that she held a 50% ownership stake in Sonny & Cher's music rights as part of her 1975 divorce settlement from Sonny — and that Mary Bono had effectively undone that ownership, cutting off royalties Cher claimed she was owed.
The backstory between these two women is genuinely tangled.
Cher and Sonny Bono married in 1969 and became one of the most recognizable musical acts of the 1960s. Their variety show was appointment television. Their divorce in 1975 was the end of a personal and professional partnership that had defined both their careers. Sonny eventually went into politics — serving as mayor of Palm Springs and then as a California congressman — and married Mary in 1986. The two were together until Sonny died in a skiing accident in 1998.
Despite everything, Cher and Mary Bono had a genuinely friendly relationship for years after Sonny's death. They stood side by side at Sonny & Cher's Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony in 1998. In 2012 Mary joined Cher onstage at the GLAAD Media Awards when Cher and Sonny's son Chaz Bono was being honored for his LGBTQ advocacy work. "I'm here with the only good Republican in the world," Cher said of Mary Bono at the time, calling her a friend.
The royalties dispute appears to have ended whatever warmth remained.
What Cher Said About Sonny
In a November 2024 interview, Cher reflected on her relationship with Sonny with characteristic candor — complicated feelings intact.
"Sonny and my relationship is hard to understand because it's hard for me to understand," she 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. We were both striving for this thing, and we loved it so much. But he was a piece of work."
That last line does a lot of work. A woman who built an entire career on her own terms, who outlasted every trend and reinvented herself more times than most people can count, still describing her complicated ex-husband as a bond she couldn't break — while simultaneously suing his widow for money she says she's owed.
The case is still moving. Mary Bono's appeal of the original royalties decision is pending. The legal fees ruling adds pressure on Cher even as the underlying dispute continues. Whatever happens next, the friendship that once had the two women sharing a stage is clearly a long time gone.
Curious for more stories that keep you informed and entertained? From the latest headlines to everyday insights, YourLifeBuzz has more to explore. Dive into what’s next.