Didn’t we learn from how artists feel about their art from Erykah Badu? To Victoria Mont it looks like Cult Gaia and Bratz missed the message! The singer took to Instagram on Friday and tapped on both brands for muse compensation. She posted a side-by-side comparison of one of her music videos and a promo video for a collaboration between Cult Gaia and Bratz. Majority of the 1,400+ comments under her post agree on the similarities.
“oop@cultgaia@bratz daaaang just ask me next time I coulda wrote the theme song too,” Victoria wrote. “I take payments via @cashapp.”
Similar Video Concept
The clip posted ends at 15 seconds with both videos running at the same time. The audio of the video is Victoria’s song ‘ Coastin.’ Meanwhile, her excerpt shows a portion of the music video– mainly a scene with happy women driving down a highway in a drop top. On the left of Victoria’s video is the Cult Gaia x Bratz project with the same scene set-up — down to the blue-colored car. Both projects also show similar close-up shots on the wheels, sunglasses and women laughing.
Victoria’s music video was published
to her verified YouTube six months ago on September 2, 2021. It has garnered over 1.4 million views since. Meanwhile, Cult Gaia and Bratz’ 50-second, promo video was published to
Cult Gaia’s YouTube on March 9.
Brands Allegedly Hired Team Victoria Used
After her post began garnering attention, Victoria stepped into The Shade Room comment section to offer more clarity.
“Yes people have driven a car down the street before duh. But they hired the same director, producer and same editor as my video and then went shot for shot,” Victoria wrote. “Hell the girl is even doing the same thing Im doing (and they animated that) and using the drop top was an idea that came from me not the directors treatment. Its international womens month fam. Corny.”
As of Saturday, there seems to be no response from either brand to Victoria’s post. The collaboration between both brands includes a clothing line inspired by the popular dolls and their fashion.
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Cassandra SantiagoCassandra Santiago is a multimedia journalist, editor, and editorial strategist with over a decade of experience shaping conversations across arts, entertainment, culture, and global news. A graduate of the University of Iowa, she has built a cross-platform career spanning newspapers, magazines, radio, and digital media. She joined The Shade Room five years ago and currently serves as a Senior Editor, where she leads editorial direction, oversees exclusive coverage, and trains and edits a team of writers. Cassandra has played a key role in developing high-impact content and editorial strategies for an audience of more than 30 million, contributing to platform growth, engagement, and monetization across multiple channels. In addition to her leadership role, she remains a daily contributor, with her articles generating more than 41 million views since 2023. Beyond The Shade Room, Cassandra offers freelance social media strategy services, speaks on the influence and impact of Black media at public panels, and owns Did It For You, an event design company in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. She is Poynter Institute–certified and was named to the DMV’s 35 Under 35 list in 2024.
