Tupac Photographer Is Suing Kendall And Kylie Jenner Over T-Shirts
The Jenner T-shirt controversy never seems to end. Kendall and Kylie Jenner are facing a lawsuit over their vintage-style T-shirt collection that superimposed the stars’ Instagram photos over iconic music images. Michael Miller has now filed a copyright suit against the girls for using his photos of the deceased rapper Tupac Shakur. Miller’s suit claims the Jenners never sought permission to use the photo and the sisters “have misappropriated and wrongfully exploited” two of his images of Tupac. One portion of Miller’s suit specifically targeted the problematic association of his images with the Jenner name, according to Billboard. The lawsuit referred to the Pepsi commercial starring Kendall Jenner that was hit with explosive backlash for its tone-deaf nature. That commercial, like the shirts, was also pulled. The suit states “an association with Kendall is particularly problematic given that she was complicit in not one but two of the worst public relations disasters in recent memory,” according to Billboard.
Voletta Wallace, Tupac’s mother wrote on Twitter:
#I am not sure who told @kyliejenner and @kendalljenner that they had the right to do this. The disrespect of these girls to not even reach out to me or anyone connected to the estate baffles me. I have no idea why they feel they can exploit the deaths of 2pac and my Son Christopher to sell a t-shirt. This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!!!
When the sisters initially launched the collection, Voletta Wallace, mother of artist The Notorious B.I.G. also slammed the “disrespectful” line. Shortly after, the Jenner sisters pulled his shirts and issued an apology. The T-shirt collections will likely continue to be an issue for the reality stars, as the apology didn’t seem to be enough for Wallace. “While we appreciate that the Jenners have made an apology and pulled the unlawful and unauthorized items, this matter has yet to be resolved,” Biggie’s estate told People magazine. Sharon Osbourne, wife of musician Ozzy Osbourne, also attacked the sisters for using her husband’s image. #“Girls, you haven’t earned the right to put your face with musical icons,” Osbourne wrote on Twitter. “Stick to what you know … lip gloss.”
Someone PLEASE Get These Girls To Hire A Copyright Lawyer/T-shirt Designer!
Susan Z’s Conclusion:
I don’t see the controversies ending with the Jenners design lines. They make a living off “being famous”, not for any particular talent but just for being rich and famous, so it would make sense they would see plagiarizing other rich and famous people to make a buck as fair game!
Princess of Wands: Inverted (Upside Down)
This is a young person’s energy creating new projects. Since pulled inverted, it clearly indicates that all their new projects are not going exactly the way they envisioned it would.
Knight of Pentacles:
This is a young man energy who is solid and honest in his dealings but also stubborn to change. I feel this is the energy around the deceased rap stars estates they continually step on for profit and those in charge of the estates determined to not let them get away with it.
The Hierophant:
This is teacher and healer coming into a situation. I believe these T-shirt issues coming up for the Jenner’s are teaching them very quickly that a deceased famous person’s estate is usually worth a lot more than when alive and guarded fiercely by those collecting the checks. Fashion statement or not!
Susan Z Rich is an emotional addiction counselor, spiritual intuitive and holistic therapist. She counsels others to see life in a more positive way and teaches personal accountability for life choices. She is also the author of several children’s books and Soul Windows…Secrets From The Divine.