Ariana Grande Sues Forever 21 for Using ‘Look-Alike Model’ in Ads

The singer has filed a suit for $10 million

Forever 21 ad campaign (L) and Ariana Grande from her single '7 Rings' (R)

(Photo: Twitter)

Fashion retailer Forever 21 is being sued for at least $10 million by pop star Ariana Grande for using her ‘look-alike’ in their branding campaigns to ‘suggest to the public an affiliation between the brand and her.’

In the complaint, Ariana has alleged that after she declined to participate in an endorsement deal in early 2019, Forever 21 and its sister brand, Riley Rose, used her “name, likeness and other intellectual property to promote their brands for free”.

She had earlier turned down the deal because the compensation offered by Forever 21 for proposed social media marketing was ‘insufficient for an artist of her nature’. According to the lawsuit, a single Instagram post by her, is worth “well into the six figures.”

The singer noticed Forever 21's campaign in February, which shared ‘uncanny’ resemblance to her look from her music video ‘7 Rings’ and notified her lawyers. However, it wasn't until mid-April that the fashion retailer decided to take down the Instagram posts.

The ‘look-alike model’ is seen wearing hair accessories like pink puffballs and sparkly tassels like the singer in ‘7 Rings’ video. The caption beneath the image is ‘Gee thanks, just bought it!’ which is also a part of the song lyrics.

According to the lawsuit, Forever 21 published ‘at least 30 unauthorised images and videos misappropriating Ms. Grande's name, image, likeness, and music in order to create the false perception of her endorsement’.

(With inputs from IANS)