Cher's Son Dragged into Singer's $1 Million Battle With Ex-Husband Sonny Bono's Widow Over Royalties

Cher’s legal battle with Sonny Bono’s widow over $1 million in royalties took a Shakespearean twist when it was revealed the iconic singer's son was dragged into the case, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.

The stunning revelation was laid bare in a court brief filed by Mary Bono who argued the case should be tossed out because it doesn’t name Sony’s heirs – his four adult children including Chaz – as defendants.

Mary said all the children have a huge financial stake in the outcome of the federal lawsuit.

“Even if the Court were to determine that any of Sonny’s children cannot be feasibly joined to the action, the Court should still dismiss the case because the litigation simply cannot proceed without the inclusion of all the statutory heirs,” the court brief stated.

“For Sonny’s children to be subject to a court order that they have not had the opportunity to defend against would be prejudicial.”

As RadarOnline.com previously reported the “Goddess of Pop” slammed Mary Bono with the lawsuit charging she secretly began diverting millions of dollars in royalty payments generated by Sonny and Cher’s vast music collection and smash hits such as I Got You Babe and The Beat Goes On.

The 77-year-old Grammy winner declared that the ironclad Marriage Settlement Agreement (MSA) she signed with Sonny in 1978 mandates her a 50-percent cut of the duo’s compositions and record sales following their separation and eventual divorce.

But in a searing court brief, Sonny’s widow demanded the lawsuit be stopped dead in its tracks because her dead husband’s heirs – Christine, 65, a daughter from his first marriage; Chaz, 56; and Mary’s children, Chesare, 35 and Chianna, 32 – have a right to “protect their interest.”

“Cher alleges that she continues to be entitled to half of all the publishing royalties under the MSA, including from the terminated copyrights,” the brief stated. “But because her claims affect Sonny’s children’s interests, …. would require her to name them as defendants.”

“The case cannot proceed without Christine, Chaz, Chesare, and Chianna’s Involvement.”

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Cher and Mary Bono, who was married to Sonny for 12 years until his 1998 ski accident death, had a cooperation agreement to split the royalties evenly, but that changed when the widow claimed the 50/50 deal had expired.

The legal scrum erupted when the Moonstruck actress, worth an estimated $360 million, signed an agreement to sell her music rights to a publishing company named Iconic Cher LLC.

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