Rihanna has reportedly launched a $5 million lawsuit against Topshop for using her image on their clothing without her permission.
The “Stay” singer’s management tried to negotiate with the owners of the company, Arcadia Group, for eight months before she filed the lawsuit, a report from the NY Post notes.
She has resorted to file the lawsuit in London, and she’s represented by law firm Reed Smith.
“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,” a source told Page Six. “Unfortunately, UK law does not protect the artist.”
The source adds that the most “offensive” part of it all is that the British clothing retailer basically told her “Go to hell. We don’t care; we are going to continue selling you.”
The retailer is carried in the U.S., but they “should know better” than to try this there, said the source. “She has spent almost $1 million in litigation at this point. She says it’s the principle, and wants to make a statement about it. They are taking advantage of artists. It is just exploitation. What they are doing is wrong,” the insider continued.
Complex notes Rihanna is still working on her clothing lines for River Island and she’s in the midst of her Diamonds tour.
image: NBCUniversal