Last week, Justin Bieber returned to unveil details surrounding his sixth studio album, Justice. The singer shared the LP’s cover art and a sneak peak of its tracklist, but not everyone was pleased with the announcement. French electronic duo Justice found Bieber’s album cover eerily familiar, and they’re now accusing him of stealing the logo they’ve used since 2003.
Bieber’s album cover features a photo of the singer with the title Justice centered across his seated body. The letter “t” in Justice is drawn to look like a cross, which is a nod to Bieber’s faith but is also similar to how the electronic duo have stylized their name for years.
According to a statement from Justice’s management, shared with Spin, Bieber’s team actually asked the duo to put them in touch with their graphic designer to discuss making Bieber a logo. However, the call allegedly never took place:
“Bieber’s team emailed us in May of 2020, asking to be looped in with Justice’s graphic designer to discuss a logo. We tried to set up a call between Bieber’s team and our designer, but the call was never completed and the conversation ended there. No one ever mentioned an album called Justice or a logo that says ‘Justice.’ The first time we saw anything about it was the announcement.”
Justice’s label, Ed Banger records, pointed out the similarity in a cheeky Instagram post. “We would like to thank Mr So Me for all his work since 2003,” they wrote.
Bieber’s team has yet to respond to Justice’s accusations, but he did give some background on the album’s inspiration. Saying he wants Justice to provide “comfort” to his fans, Bieber said, “In a time when there’s so much wrong with this broken planet, we all crave healing — and justice — for humanity. In creating this album, my goal is to make music that will provide comfort; to make songs that people can relate to, and connect to, so they feel less alone. Suffering, injustice and pain can leave people feeling helpless. Music is a great way of reminding each other that we aren’t alone.”
Check out Bieber’s Justice cover art and Justice’s logo above.
