Ariana Grande sues Forever 21 for $10m over ‘fake’ social media campaign
Ariana Grande is suing Forever 21 for $10 million, alleging that the retailer used her likeness, trademarks and copyright to promote its products after the singer refused an endorsement deal.
In a complaint, filed September 2 at the US District Court for the Central District of California, Grande alleged that Forever 21 stole her likeness and IP “fearing irrelevance in a rapidly evolving market”.
According to the filing, negotiations took place between Grande and Forever 21 in or around December 2018 and January 2019, about the possibility of an endorsement deal.
However, Grande said the deal never came to fruition because the amounts Forever 21 offered to pay for the right to use Grande’s name and likeness were insufficient.
“Given her stature and influence, Grande is highly sought after by companies hoping to secure her endorsement of their products, and those companies are willing to pay enormous sums of money,” the filing said.
“Even a single social media post by Grande can garner fees of several hundred thousand dollars, and her longer-term endorsement arrangements command fees in the millions of dollars,” it added.
Grande alleged that shortly after the failed negotiations, Forever 21 launched a misleading campaign across its website and social media platforms in January and February 2019.
This campaign capitalised on the success of Grande’s latest album—Thank U, Next—by publishing at least 30 unauthorised images and videos misappropriating Grande’s name, image, likeness, and music in order to create the false perception of her endorsement, the lawsuit said.
Forever 21 allegedly hired a look-alike model, and posted photos of the model in clothing and accessories that resemble those worn by Grande in her music videos, particularly in the video for her single “7 rings”.
Grande said that even the hairstyle and pose that the model was photographed in resemble her likeness from the video.
“The resemblance is uncanny and Forever 21’s intent was clear: to suggest to the viewing public that Grande endorsed Forever 21, its products, and was affiliated with Forever 21,” the complaint said.
Additionally, she claimed that “7 rings” was also played over some of the company’s social media posts.
The filing also referred to the “financial downturn” Forever 21 is allegedly experiencing.
“Recently, however, Forever 21 has faced competition from new online fast fashion companies,” the complaint said, adding that the retailer used Grande’s likeness to counteract this.
Grande said the allegedly infringing posts remained on Forever 21’s social media accounts until at least April 17.
“As a result, Forever 21 profited from Grande’s influence and star-power for approximately 14 weeks,” the lawsuit said.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Today's top stories:
Obamas’ TV production company seeks TM invalidation
Huawei accuses US of cyberwar, entrapment, and harassment
DC Comics mulls ‘Joker’ and ‘Superhero Chefs’ TM oppositions
