Ariana Grande — an American singer, songwriter and dancer — seems to have a problem with Forever 21. Yes, the popular singer has filed a suit on Monday against clothing brands and spinoff beauty brand Riley Rose, alleging that they have stolen her name, likeness and other intellectual property to promote their brands for free.
In the lawsuit obtained by CNN, Ariana Grade alleged that the clothing brand approached her for an endorsement deal with her in late 2018 which did not work out as Forever 21 did not agree to pay the fair market value for a celebrity of Grande’s stature.
The documents allege Forever 21 and Riley Rose published at least 30 unauthorized images and videos “misappropriating Ms. Grande’s name, image, likeness and music in order to create the false perception of her endorsement.”
The $10 million lawsuits also has screenshots from Forever 21’s Instagram showing stills from Grande’s work being used to promote the Forever 21 brand, as well as advertisements featuring what the suit calls a “look-alike model,” who has a hairstyle and clothes similar to those seen in Grande’s music video for her song “7 Rings.”
Some captions of their Instagram post also featured lyrics from Grande’s song, the suit says. Notably, the images showcased in the lawsuit no longer appear to be on Forever 21’s Instagram, Twitter or Facebook pages.
The suit claims Forever 21 left some of the unauthorized posts up until at least April 17, 2019, despite requests beginning in February that all of them be removed. The popular singer is demanding $10 million in damages for copyright infringement, common law trademark infringement and other alleged offences.
In an email to CNN, Forever 21 stated, “Forever 21 does not comment on pending litigation as per company policy. That said, while we dispute the allegations, we are huge supporters of Ariana Grande and have worked with her licensing company over the past two years. We are hopeful that we will find a mutually agreeable resolution and can continue to work together in the future.”
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