Rihanna is going after her own father in court.
But why is Rihanna suing her father? The pop star filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, claiming he’s been using the Fenty name to collect millions of dollars for his own business, Fenty Entertainment.
Why is Rihanna suing her father?
Rihanna is suing her father, Ronald Fenty, over the use of the Fenty name.
It may don’t seem weird that Rihanna’s father chose to use his last name for his business, but the problem is that Rihanna legally owns the Fenty name after trademarking it to protect her business.
She argues that he, with his company Fenty Entertainment, has misled the public and damaged her brand.
“Although Mr. Fenty is Rihanna’s father, he does not have, and never has had, authority to act on Rihanna’s behalf, nor has he ever been authorized to use her name, intellectual property or publicity rights,” states a court document,obtained by Variety.
The lawsuit claims that Ronald Fenty and his business partners violated her trademark and falsely that their business was affiliated with Rihanna.
In the documents, Rihanna states that her father’s company used her name to advertise themselves to solicit millions of dollars, including trying to book her for 15 shows in December 2017 for $15 million, without her permission.
She also claims that her father tried to file a trademark for the word Fenty for newly opened resort boutique hotels, but he didn’t succeed.
Before filing a lawsuit, Rihanna says that she ordered her father to stop using the Fenty name but he’s been ignoring her warnings and continued his business with Fenty Entertainment.
The suit is seeking an injunction to keep her father and his business partners from using the Fenty name for commercial purposes, as well as monetary damages in the amount of $17 million.
Rihanna has experienced huge success in recent years with her brand Fenty Beauty. The pop star debuted the cosmetics brand in 2017 and has since expanded to lingerie and sportswear.
The reason for her success? Her cosmetics are designed to be inclusive for people of all skin tones, addressing a long-criticized gap in cosmetic industry offerings for women of color.
Fenty Entertainment is a product and development company, introduced in 2017 by Ronald Fenty.
His company focuses on cultivating new talent and developing TV and media platforms for promoting brand development.
“Our philosophy is let no talent be wasted. We welcome the entire world to submit their music, performances, and videos for recognition,” The company states on their website.
