Beyonce is facing a $20 million copyright infringement laws over claims she used the voice of a late YouTube star without permission in her song "Formation."

The lawsuit filed in New Orleans federal court on Monday, by the estate of Anthony Barre, who went by the name Messy Mya on YouTube, claims his voice features in the song's introduction.

Barre was fatally shot in 2010 and the complaint alleges his estate have received neither payment or acknowledgment for voice samples taken from his videos "A 27 Piece Huh?" and "Booking The H**s From New Wildin".

In addition to the multi-million damages claim, royalties are also being sought.

In addition to Beyonce, the suit also names several songwriters, the video's director and companies owned by Warner Music Group (WMG).

Representatives for Beyonce, who recently announced she is pregnant with twins, and WMG did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the Associated Press reported.