Ariana Grande is suing clothing retailer Forever 21 for allegedly using her name and likeness without permission to sell new merchandise. The singer is asking for $10 million for the supposed misappropriation.
According to documents obtained by ABC, Grande and Forever 21 were in talks for a potential partnership, “which she explicitly declined due to Forever 21’s unwillingness to pay the fair market value for a celebrity of Ms. Grande’s stature.” Around the same time, the retailer and its beauty chain, Riley Rose, reportedly referenced her music and image in various social media posts. Now Grande is seeking “damages in an amount to be proven at trial, but in no event less than $10 million.”
“The campaign capitalized on the concurrent success of Ms. Grande’s album Thank U, Next by publishing 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 lawsuit alleges.
In the complaint, Grande’s team included screenshots of social posts from Forever 21’s Instagram account that reference her songs “Thank U, Next” and “7 Rings” and include models styled to look like the singer.
The lawsuit comes just days after Bloomberg reported that Forever 21 was considering filing for bankruptcy.
In a statement provided to Glamour, Forever 21 said: “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.”
