Whew! The plot surrounding Ariana Grande’s $10 million lawsuit against fast fashion retailer Forever 21 has taken another turn, as the brand has officially responded to her claims of “stolen likeness.”
In an exclusive statement to @todaystyle, Forever 21 has publicly responded to pop star Ariana Grande’s explosive claims that the brand “stole her name, likeness, and other intellectual property to promote their brands for free” with almost identical replicas of clothing she’s worn and a model who bears a striking resemblance to her.
Forever 21 official statement reads:
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“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.”
Here’s where things get even more complicated. According to court documents, it appears that Forever 21 approached Ariana about a possible endorsement deal that would focus on social media marketing, back in December 2018. However, negotiations between her team and Forever 21 “never came to fruition because the amounts that the company offered to pay for the right to use Ms. Grande’s name and likeness were insufficient for an artist of her stature.”
This certainly makes it look like after Ariana turned down their financial offer because it wasn’t enough, they decided to move forward with a lookalike model and dupes of her outfits—which is exactly what Ariana’s lawsuit alleges.
When Ariana discovered the lookalike campaign, she and her team promptly asked Forever 21 to remove it, but that didn’t stop her from taking legal action that could cause the already-financially strapped company to cough up millions.
Roommates, what are your thoughts on this?
