UPDATE: According to legal documents obtained by Variety, a judge has ruled that Megan Thee Stallion is clear to release the remix of BTS’ “Butter” on which she is featured.
Megan Thee Stallion had planned to release a remix of BTS’ “Butter” this Friday — but in a new court filing, the rapper is alleging that her record label is preventing the song’s release.
According to documents filed Tuesday in Harris County, Texas, Stallion has submitted a petition against her record label 1501 Certified Entertainment and its CEO Carl Crawford, alleging that they are preventing her from releasing the song.
As written in the court filing, Stallion — referred to in the documents as her birth name Megan Pete — is seeking “emergency relief from the Court before this Friday, August 27, 2021, to allow her new music to be released this week as previously-scheduled.” In the documents, Stallion argues that blocking the release of the song will cause “irreparable damage” to her career.
“If Pete is not allowed to release a new track this Friday on which she is the featured artist in a remix with BTS of the song called, ‘Butter,’ her music career will suffer irreparable damage, including a devastating impact to her relationships with her fans and with other recording artists in the music industry,” the document states. “Such irreparable injury to her personal goodwill and the silencing of her artistic expression in music cannot be compensated in the way of monetary damages. As such, Pete seeks emergency relief from this Court.”
This isn’t the first time Stallion has had a legal disagreement with 1501 — she sued the label last year for allegedly preventing her from releasing her EP “Suga” and was granted a temporary restraining order; she remains under contract to 1501, with recordings distributed by 300 Entertainment, although legal action is ongoing. In the new court documents, Stallion claims that preventing her from releasing the “Butter” remix violates the rules outlined in last year’s temporary restraining order.
“The release of new music from Pete is vital to maintain her status as a relatively new but still up and coming artist,” the filing continues. “Absent immediate help from the Court, Pete’s art will be impacted, the release of the song derailed, and Pete’s goodwill, reputation, and overall career will suffer detrimental, undesirable, and irreversible harm.”
Representatives for Stallion, 1501 Entertainment, 300 Entertainment and BTS did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.