American pop star Beyoncé’s team took legal action over the “unauthorized” use of the song Survivor in a teaser trailer for “Dark Horse,” an upcoming film about the life of conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian outlets reported on Tuesday.
“Dark Horse” is produced and written by Brazilian lawmaker and former National Secretary of Culture Mário Frias, a member of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL). The film stars American actor Jim Caviezel as Jair Bolsonaro.
Caviezel is widely known for his starring in Sound of Freedom and for portraying Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.
The production, filmed in Brazil and the United States, is directed by filmmaker Cyrus Nowrasteh and is expected to come out in 2026. The first teaser trailer, released this week, showcases some key moments of Bolsonaro’s career, such as his tenure as a Brazilian lawmaker, his marriage to former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro the 2018 failed assassination attempt against him during that year’s presidential campaign, and his recovery.
The trailer features a cinematic cover of Beyoncé’s Survivor, which the singer’s team reportedly claims was used without due authorization.
Anderson Nick, a Brazilian man identified by CNN Brasil as the person in charge of the Brazilian branch of Beyoncé’s charitable foundation BeyGOOD, announced through Instagram that “legal measures” were already being carried to have the trailer taken down as soon as possible.
“Thank you to everyone who sent me DMs saying that the song ‘Survivor’ was used in the trailer for the movie about the unmentionable, ineligible, coup-plotting convict,” Nick reportedly wrote on an Instagram story.
“Obviously, the song was used without permission, and legal measures are already being taken to have it removed from the air as soon as possible. Thank you,” he concluded.
Jail Bolsonaro served as President of Brazil between 2019 and 2022, narrowly losing against current radical socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in that year’s election.
The 70 year-old former President is presently serving a 27 years and 3 months prison sentence on dubious “charges of “crimes against democracy.” Bolsonaro was also imposed a 35 year ban from running for office — as a result, he will only be allowed to run again at the age of 105.
Brazil’s top court, the Supreme Tribunal Federal (STF) has repeatedly rejected granting humanitarian house arrest benefits to Bolsonaro, who in addition to being recently diagnosed with skin cancer, suffers from multiple health conditions, of which the most severe are a direct consequence of the severe internal organ damage caused by the 2018 failed assassination attempt.
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