The Kendall and Kylie Jenner t-shirt fiasco isn’t going to end with a simple apology. Less than a week after Kendall apologized for selling the $125 T-shirts with the sisters’ faces imposed on the likeness of artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., The Doors, Tupac and more and the subsequent cancellation of the line, the Jenner sisters are firing back at a lawsuit filed over some of the images portrayed on the shirts.
“The allegations made are completely false and the lawsuit is baseless,” the Jenners’ clothing company K+K said in a statement.
Last Friday, photographer Michael Miller who took the iconic photo of Tupac Shakur that the Jenners used said the sisters “misappropriated and wrongfully exploited” his work. Miller’s suit also alleged that the Jenners “intended to exploit his photography” and didn’t obtain his authorization.
In the Jenners’ eyes however, there was no infringement or violation of rights. Per Sky News, the Jenners’ state that they purchased the images from a company that had been authorized to license them.
“Canada Inc, the licensee manufacturer of the K + K brand, purchased a very small quantity of vintage T-shirts with performer images already on them. Only two Tupac T-shirts were sold before being pulled from distribution,” the Jenners said in a statement. “Canada Inc did not copy anyone’s image, remove any copyright notice from any image or attempt to exploit Mr. Miller’s claimed right of publicity.”
While the Jenners have continued to fight against Miller’s lawsuit, it is unclear if they will battle the estates of The Doors and The Notorious B.I.G. over their potential lawsuits. Violetta Wallace, the mother of the late Brooklyn rapper found the whole ordeal to be “disrespectful, disgusting and exploitation at its worst” and filed a cease-and-desist order. A lawsuit from a photographer seeking $150,000 per photo for statutory damages is one thing. Battling the mother of one of hip-hop’s giants? A bad idea, much like the shirts were to begin with.
