Beyonce sued over Lemonade visuals

Beyonce has been slapped with a lawsuit amid allegations the trailer for her short film Lemonade infringes on a filmmaker's copyright.

The superstar stunned fans with her TV special in April (16), when she debuted visuals for her brand new album.

However, director Matthew Fulks claims the promo for Lemonade featured a number of images strikingly similar to those he used for his movie short Palinoia, which he released in 2014.

Among the scenes he has taken issue with are those featured in the clip for Don't Hurt Yourself, in which Beyonce stands in front of a graffiti-covered wall in a dimly-lit parking lot. He also alleges close-up images of "overgrown grass" and footage shot with a red tint are rip-offs of his own work.

Fulks, who states his film detailed a "tumultuous relationship" - just like the one Beyonce details in Lemonade, alleges a senior vice president at Beyonce's label Columbia Music viewed Palinoia in 2015, and then lifted ideas for the singer's project, when filming began last year (15).

According to TMZ.com, he has named Beyonce and executives at Columbia as defendants, and is seeking a cut of the album's profits.

Representatives for the Halo hitmaker have yet to respond to the accusations.