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Singer/actress/beauty icon Rihanna is taking her father to court in the United States for exploiting her name to further his entertainment business.
The lawsuit says Rihanna owns trademarks for the Fenty name – having launched Fenty Beauty in 2017 – and has sent formal “cease and desist” requests to her dad, Ronald Fenty, who owns Fenty Entertainment.
RiRi claims her father and his business partner have falsely suggested she’s connected to their company, which has not only misled the public, but also hurt her Fenty brand.
“Defendants continue to this date to use their misrepresentations for their commercial advantage and to mislead the public.” The lawsuit says. “This fraudulent conduct harms not only plaintiffs but the public at large and requires judicial intervention.”
Rihanna has spoken about her difficult relationship with her father in the past. During an ABC interview in 2009, she revealed her dad used to beat her mother and she would try to get between them to break up their fights. She said she even broke a glass bottle once “so they would hear something else.”
“I always said to myself, I’m never going to date somebody like my dad, never,’” she said.
According to this lawsuit, when Ronald Fenty and Moses Perkins started their entertainment firm in 2017, they said the launch was “with” Rihanna, even though she wasn’t involved with the business at all.
On another occasion, Fenty Entertainment started negotiations for Rihanna for a 15-show tour worth around $15 million, without her authorisation.
“Although Mr Fenty is Rihanna’s father, he does not presently, nor has he ever, had the authority to act on Rihanna’s behalf or had the right to use her Fenty mark, to exploit the goodwill of her Fenty brands or to solicit business on her behalf,” the complaint says.
These kinds of activities risk “serious irreparable injury” to the Fenty brand if not stopped, the lawsuit claims.
Fenty Entertainment did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
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