Ariana Grande Wants $10M From Forever 21

After an endorsement deal went nowhere, the singer alleges they used her image anyway
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2019 1:37 PM CDT
Ariana Grande Sues Over Lookalike Model
In a 2018 file photo, Ariana Grande attends the 13th annual Billboard Women in Music event at Pier 36, in New York.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Ariana Grande has a $10 million bone to pick with Forever 21. That's how much she has sued the company for, according to documents filed in California Monday. The issue, allege Grande's lawyers, is that after Grande turned down an endorsement deal involving the company and its beauty store Riley Rose earlier this year, Forever 21 just went right ahead and used her "name, likeness, and other intellectual property" to push its brands. The lawyers cite actual photos of Grande that Forever 21 posted to social media, as well as a "look-alike model" used by the company and decked out in a hairdo and clothes that are close to what Grande wore in her video for the song "7 Rings." Slate reports Grande's lyrics were also allegedly used, and gives an example here.

The singer's lawyers further allege Forever 21 didn't comply with their requests that the images be taken down. Jezebel has photos that illustrate Grande's grievances, as well as a copy of the suit itself, which notes that Grande has the "largest social media following of any female celebrity in the world." As such, a single social media post by her can command six figures. The suit says Forever 21 was unwilling to pay "the fair market value" associated with a celeb such as her and that it made unauthorized use of her image and name because it "[feared] irrelevance." Bloomberg reported last Wednesday that Forever 21 is considering bankruptcy, which sources say "would help the company shed unprofitable stores and recapitalize the business." (More Ariana Grande stories.)

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