Why The Big Bang Theory Theme Song Landed The Barenaked Ladies In Court

The sometimes questionable "Big Bang Theory" from Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady contains several memorable elements, from its cast to its storylines. Among these is the show's theme song, which is simply titled "The Big Bang Theory" and is sung by the Canadian rock band known as The Barenaked Ladies. Over the years, the song has become recognized among television viewers as one of the best show themes of all time, but it's not without controversy. In fact, the track wound up landing The Barenaked Ladies in court for a pretty surprising reason.

Back in 2015, Barenaked Ladies founding member Steven Page — who departed the group in 2009 — sued his former bandmates over the distribution of royalties made from the "Big Bang Theory" theme. He accused Ed Robertson specifically of keeping all of the money made from the song they recorded in 2006 for himself. In the lawsuit, he demanded the 20 percent he was initially promised, allegedly around $1 million, as well as his future cuts to be sent straight to him from Warner Bros. itself (via Courthouse News Service).

Now years after Page first brought his former bandmates to court, it doesn't seem that Page won out when the courtroom dust settled.

Steven Page's legal suit against Ed Robertson — in addition to other Barenaked Ladies members Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, and Taylor Stewart — over the "Big Bang Theory" theme seems like it has some merit on paper. If he had a big hand in the iconic song's creation, why shouldn't he have been compensated for his efforts? Well, as it turns out, the courts didn't feel that Page's claims and the evidence to back them up held much water, resulting in a decision that didn't exactly swing in Page's favor.

As shared by the Pryor Cashman LLP website in 2016, Judge Barbara Scheper elected to stay Page's action in favor of Robertson and his bandmates. Thus, Scheper put a swift stop to the legal proceedings rather than hand a strong courtroom victory to either side. It's unknown if any funds exchanged hands in either direction, but it does seem that Page is once again on good terms with Robertson, Creeggan, Hearn, and Stewart. He made a one-off return to The Barenaked Ladies in 2018, with all of the legal drama seemingly behind them.

Considering how popular "The Big Bang Theory" still is all these years after its arrival and how famous the theme song is, one can only hope that all of the members of The Barenaked Ladies have been well-paid for their pop culture contribution.