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LOS ANGELES - Ariana Grande is suing fashion retailer Forever 21 for allegedly using a look-alike model after Grande reportedly turned down a potential collaboration because the company allegedly refused to pay “the fair market value for a celebrity of Ms. Grande’s stature.”
According to court documents, Grande is alleging that Forever 21 sought her endorsement of their products, hoping to benefit from Grande’s “celebrity and influence.”
RELATED: Forever 21 reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy
The documents went on to say that “fearing irrelevance in a rapidly evolving market with increasing competition from other fast fashion brands, rather than pay Ms. Grande,” the clothing brand posted photos to their Instagram using a look-alike model.
Grande’s representatives referenced multiple social media posts by the fashion brand, one of which was a Feb. 8 post featuring an image of a model closely resembling Grande in her music video “7 rings.”
The post with the look-alike model also had a caption that read, “Gee thanks, just bought it!,” which are lyrics from the same song.
Other examples included posts by Forever 21 that actually featured Grande and tagged the singer’s Instagram account.
The court papers called these posts an “unauthorized marketing campaign,” that “falsely suggested Ms. Grande’s endorsement.”
Court documents alleged that the fashion company stole Grande’s intellectual property following the success of her single “thank u, next.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 28 that Forever 21 is preparing for a potential bankruptcy.