SZA

Victory Boyd sued Travis Scott, SZA, Future and others over Telekinesis, alleging that elements of her song Like the Way It Sounds had been copied. In March 2026, a federal judge declined to dismiss certain aspects of the case at that procedural stage.

Attribution

Accused

After using a dataset detection tool, SZA stated that 238 of her tracks, potentially including unreleased recordings, appeared in music model training data. She strongly condemned artists supporting such practices and singled out Suno and Diplo.

State of the evidence

Disputed

Attribution

Personally implicated

After Nicki Minaj publicly attacked Terrence 'Punch' Henderson, a post by SZA about Mercury retrograde was interpreted by Minaj as a dig. The two artists subsequently exchanged aggressive public messages, and SZA posted screenshots showing that Minaj had previously sought collaborations.

State of the evidence

Reported by the press

Attribution

Directly implicated

Asked about the absence of a new album, SZA said fans should ask Punch and described her relationship with him as 'BEEN hostile', triggering the #FreeSZA hashtag and allegations that TDE was withholding music.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

In Mr. Right Now, Drake rapped that he had dated SZA in 2008. Internet users then calculated that she might have been 17, prompting controversy over a possible relationship with a minor.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Artist Lina Iris Viktor sued Kendrick Lamar, SZA, TDE and several other companies and creators, alleging that visual motifs from her work had been reproduced in the All the Stars music video after she had refused a licence.

State of the evidence

Settlement

Attribution

Accused

Person targeted by the proceedings

Lina Iris Viktor

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

SZA stated that an employee at a Sephora store in Calabasas had called security to check that she was not stealing. The incident became a widely publicised example of suspected racial profiling in retail.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the victim

Before Ctrl was released, SZA posted and then deleted a message saying she was 'quitting' and that TDE president Punch could release the album if he wished. She subsequently recounted how her perfectionism had delayed the project and the label eventually physically took her hard drive to stop further revisions and settle on the released version.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated