Although the songstress has sported Topshop looks in the past I think it’s safe to say the days of her wearing the retailer are definitely over. Page Six is reporting that Rihanna is suing the mass brand for $5 million worth of damages for continuing to sell a graphic t-shirt that depicts an image of the superstar that wasn’t approved by her team. Additionally, the star isn’t making any royalties of the product even though it features her face.
Rihanna Sues Topshop:
The report claims that RiRi’s team has been trying to negotiate with the British brand for almost a year — but apparently they don’t seem too concerned with Rihanna’s argument. Not only have they dismissed the complaints from her team, but they offered up a mere $5,000. The graphic tee is currently sold in Topshop’s UK locations.
The source says: “What is most offensive for Rihanna is that they basically told her, ‘Go to hell. We don’t care; we are going to continue selling you.’ Topshop is now in the United States. They set up in Manhattan and Nordstrom, but they know better than to do this in the US because they would get in trouble.”
While it seems like a closed case in Rihanna’s favor, the reason the retailer is able to sell the shirts without offering up royalties is due to a loophole in the creative copyright laws in the UK. “Rihanna’s management asked Topshop a number of times to stop selling her image and were told, ‘We do what we want.’ They buy the pictures from a photographer, but they do not pay the artist licensing fees. Unfortunately, UK law does not protect the artist,” a source told Page Six.
Rihanna may not be wearing Topshop anytime soon but she will continue to show off her own line for British retailer River Island. In fact, the Summer 2013 collection is full of, (approved!), images of the songstress and her closest pals.
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