The Weeknd has reached a settlement with Suniel Fox and Henry Strange, two musicians who sued the Canadian pop star, real name Abel Tesfaye, in 2021 claiming that his 2018 hit Call Out My Name had copied one of their songs. As the BBC reports, Fox and Strange’s lawyers filed in Los Angeles federal court on Friday, requesting the case be dismissed and stating that the two musicians had reached a settlement with Tesfaye and his team, and were “still in the process of formalising, executing, and consummating” the deal.
At the time of the lawsuit’s initial filing, Fox and Strange – who perform together as Epikker – claimed that the “lead guitar and vocal hooks” of Call Out My Name bore similarity to their song Vibeking. Although Tesfaye denied the claims, the duo also claimed they had evidence that the singer had previously been aware of the track. The BBC reported that Fox and Strange had sent Vibeking to Eric White, one of Tesfaye’s collaborators, in 2015; later, White had allegedly replied saying that Tesfaye thought the song was “fire”.
