Ariana Grande suing Forever 21 for $10 million for using look-alike model and copying music video

Author: CAITLIN O'KANE/CBS News Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published:
In "7 Rings," Ariana Grande (left) sings "I want it, I got it." Forever 21's ads (right) include the slogan, "You want it. We got it!" (ARIANA GRANDE/VEVO & FOREVER 21)
In “7 Rings,” Ariana Grande (left) sings “I want it, I got it.” Forever 21’s ads (right) include the slogan, “You want it. We got it!” (ARIANA GRANDE/VEVO & FOREVER 21)

Ariana Grande is one of the most popular singers in the world, and her style inspires millions of followers on social media — but in this case imitation is not a form of flattery. Grande is suing the clothing chain Forever 21 and its spin-off cosmetics brand, Riley Rose, alleging the company used a look-alike model to impersonate her in a new ad campaign.

The singer filed the lawsuit in federal court in California on Monday. Grande claims the company falsely made it look like she was backing the brand by using imagery from her “Thank U, Next” album and hiring a model that looked just like her to recreate scenes from her “7 Rings” music video.

According to Grande’s lawsuit, Forever 21 continuously ran the campaign on their website and social media. An ad posted on February 8, which is still up on Forever 21 Facebook page, shows a clothing collection promoted with a slogan that plays off the lyrics from “7 Rings.”

“You want it. We got it!” the ad reads. A model whose facial features look similar to Grande’s wears her hair in the pop star’s signature ponytail, with accessories that match the ones Grande wears in the “7 Rings” video. The color scheme of the ad also matches the music video: neon pink and purple.

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