The Weeknd Accused of Ripping Off 'Starboy' from Somali-American Activist in $5 Million Lawsuit

The Weeknd is accused of stealing the beat from one of his biggest songs from an artist who says he only knew about her tunes because of his East African roots.

According to documents obtained by The Blast, songwriter Yasminah, who is a Somali-American poet and activist, claims in 2009 she recorded a song called "Jewel of My Life" aka "Hooyo," which became a big hit in the East African community of Western transplants.

She claims that in 2016 The Weeknd released "Starboy," which she says is a carbon copy of her song. She believes the star only knew about her song because of it making the rounds in the East African community. The Weeknd was born in Canada but his parents are Ethiopian immigrants.

Yasminah says she hired a lawyer to go after The Weeknd before, and allegedly reached a settlement, but claims her label allegedly kept the money so now she needs to take of herself.

Now she wants $5 million dollars and is going after The Weeknd, Daft Punk and Republic Records for allegedly ripping off her work.