With the lyrics of “7 Rings” used as captions in their promotional social media posts and a model that looks unnervingly similar to the singer herself, Forever 21 is under a lot of heat recently for using the looks of Ariana Grande to sell their merchandise.
It isn’t new for Forever 21 to attempt to use Grande’s fame and fanbase in order to promote their products and fashion. It seems fitting, the younger fanbase and the ‘popular’ kids encroached in pop culture nowadays. The company attempted to have a brand deal/collaboration with Grande in 2018, which fell through after they didn’t come to an agreement about the money the singer was to receive.
Since then, the company had published dozens of images and promotional ads that depict Grande’s likeness- ponytail, facial features, fashion- you name it, it’s all reminiscent of the popstar. By doing so, they had created a false pretense that Grande had actually endorsed them, or that a collaboration was in the works. This deceived numerous customers, and certainly hundreds and thousands of impressionable teens who assumed that buying Forever 21 clothes would make them look and be like their favorite celebrity.
Because of this unlawful deception done after the clear refusal to work with them, Forever 21 is now facing a ten million dollar lawsuit made by Grande and her team. Her representatives have been asking for the posts to be removed since February, though some of them remained up until April. As of now, all of them have been removed.
But, Grande may not be so innocent after all. After the news story broke about the lawsuit, ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race’ contestant Farrah Moan claims that the singer used her drag race look in the ‘7 Rings’ music video, without any credit given. Moan had met the video’s costume designer who had also explicitly stated that Grande’s outfit was inspired by the drag queen. Moan didn’t bring it to light until now because they saw it as hypocritical for the celebrity to be demanding and outing Forever 21 as unlawful despite her own creatively questionable inspired looks.
More companies have claimed the same now, saying that Grande has a tendency to steal from marginalized groups. While her career hasn’t been affected, it comes to wonder where the line between inspiration and the lack of creative integrity begins. With rumors of Forever 21 filing for bankruptcy and the other Grande accusers coming forward, it has not yet been told whether her team will continue and follow through with the lawsuit, or if they will wait for the talk about her stealing ideas to be over.
Despite all of this, Grande continues to succeed. Her dedicated fanbase is untouched, and her popularity within the entertainment industry still reigns nearly supreme.